The Way Things Are
by Cltc Cat and Foxxy
Summary: Yaoi/mix. Sequel to Daffodils. Slowly he leaned forward until their lips were almost touching and he could feel the other's breath against his lips. "I told you before, I'd do anything you asked. I left because I can't say no to you."
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: We don't own Gundam Wing. If we did, Cltc wouldn't have to work extra hours to afford gas money to visit Foxy.**

Here it is. The start of the next installment of this series! Enjoy. =) This is more like a teaser chapter really. But we're posting this and so we have the right to break chapters wherever we so feel. Take that! HA!

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He knelt, head bowed, studying the carpet intently. It was the day he'd been waiting for, the day he would prove his love and finally become healed. It had been three months since he'd walked away from Quatre, but he knew this is what he wanted, or it least it's what he deserved.

He could hear the silence fall over the restaurant as he reach into the inner pocket of his jacket. He wasn't nervous, which surprised him, but eerily calm as if he accepted his fate. He tried to push that thought aside – this was a happy day, after all.

He slowly studied the box, then looked to the dark haired beauty before him, watching as surprise shown in the dark eyes. He'd always loved dark eyes, but he would never forget those innocent blue eyes, how they'd harden when they wanted to fight. He pushed that thought aside as well. It wouldn't do to think of someone else as he proposed to the love of his life.

He opened the box, eyeing the ring before extending it out. He ignored the voice in the back of his head, shouting out him to stop this, to walk away. This was his fate, this is what he deserved. He couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at the tears in those large dark eyes.

Duo took a deep breath, then forced a smile to his face.

"Marry me. Please…"

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Wheeeee! This is why Foxy does the uploads and not me. I like to leave long needless author notes. Just to annoy ppl. Aren't I precious? BTW: Bonus points if you can figure out who it is before chapter two. I'd promise a prize, but as I mentioned before, I have to work extra for gas money. And I'm lazy. So there.

See? I'm still writing this note. I probably will untl Foxy makes me stop writing. ssnerlasdfgjh HELP!!! Ok.... Foxy here. Cltc has been beaten and dealt with. :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: We don't own Gundam Wing. If we did, Cltc wouldn't have to work extra hours to afford gas money to visit Foxy.**

Yes, chapter two is already up. This is the advantage to Foxy and Cltc being in the same state as opposed to different time zones. We can type faster. =) Hope ya'll enjoy!

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"Duo, please just stop it." Hilde interrupted him to fold her hands over her chest as she leaned in the doorway. "It's been a year. This isn't going to work. We aren't going to work."

He stopped his pacing and turned to look at her. "What exactly are you saying, then?"

"Us. We. This." She held up her hand and pointed to the ring on her finger. "After a year, I can't even get you to pick a date, Duo. Did you really think I was just going to sit around and wait for you to sort your own self out? I can't do that. You need to get help somewhere. And I'm not the one for that." Taking a deep breath, she sighed and removed the ring from her finger, then held it out to him. "I'm giving this back. I've met someone else."

Duo 's mouth dropped open. "You what?" He moved towards her, grabbing her shoulders. "You did what?"

His fingers dug into her skin. She could feel him practically shaking and his eyes looked wild. "Ouch! Duo, let me go. That hurts!" Hilde tried to push him away. "I met a guy. Mark. He's nice to me. He's not drunk all the time and he actually has a goal for himself." Finally she pried herself from his grasp and backed away from him. "I don't know what's wrong with you, Duo. But you've changed. And I can't stay with you like this. I want you out of the house tomorrow." She picked up her keys from the side table and went to the door. "I'm staying with him tonight. When I come home, I don't expect to see you here. Leave your key under the mat." Hilde left, closing the door behind her without a second look back.

Duo stared at the door in shock. How dare she walk out on him! He knew who she was referring to, a customer that always needed Hilde's help for special assignments… How many times had he just walked in and taken Hilde right under his nose? He flopped back in the chair, turning up the whiskey bottle for a sip. When nothing came out, he gave it a good shake, then flung the bottle against the door.

He was going to find Mark.

And Mark would suffer.

* * *

"Really guys, I've heard good things about this place. And I think we all deserve a drink after that meeting." Trowa watched him with a smirk as Quatre walked backwards to once again convince them that this little shack in the middle of the ghetto was indeed a good idea to visit. Heero looked around, always on the watch for any sign of trouble. The Chinese pilot scowled at the building, aptly named 'The Little Bar.'

"Hm. Why don't you turn and watch where you're going," Trowa suggested. Just as Quatre turned to walk straight, his foot caught on something and he fell forward. The taller pilot managed to grab hold of one of the blonde's flailing arms before his face met the pavement. Pulling him back he held on to him until Quatre could regain his footing.

"Get outta here and go sober up, junkie!" The door to the bar opened and two large burly men tossed a body out. "If we catch you selling or starting another fight in here again, you're done. Banned. Got it?"

The person managed to catch his footing but stumbled and ran into Quatre and Trowa. The taller pilot's grip on the blonde was broken as the 'junkie' collided with Quatre.

Quatre managed to catch hold of the figure as they stumbled back together. "Woah. Hey, you ok?" He looked at the person in his arms and froze. Hazy violet eyes looked at him with dark circles underneath. His hair was dull and frizzy, but the long braid was unmistakable. Quatre's hands around his waist could feel just how thin he was under the shirt, and his sleeves were long to his wrists: not rolled like they normally were. "Duo?" The blonde looked him over again in astonishment.

"Huh?" Duo stood, yanking himself free of the blonde's grasp. He studied Quatre a moment, then smirked. "Well if it isn't blondie, himself!" Just then a girl exited the bar, supporting a man around the shoulders as he held a towel to his bloody face. The girl turned towards the group, spotted Duo, and growled.

"I can't fucking believe you! I'll leave your stuff with Howard. Go sober up, Duo." She turned the guy in her arms. "Come on Mark, let's get you to the hospital."

Duo sneered at her. "Maybe this time you can keep your legs closed, huh Hil?" He laughed as she shot him the finger. He gave a final wave off his shoulder and walked away, pausing as he noticed the other pilots still staring at him in disbelief. "What the fuck do you want? Come back to finish the job, Quat? Glad you could take time at of your schedule to grace L2 with your presence." He bowed, and then walked off down the street laughing to himself as he pulled a joint from behind his ear and lit up.

Quatre stared after Duo. His jaw dropped and the air whooshed from his lungs at the bite in those words. He took a step forward, then stopped. "Duo," he whispered, then turned and entered the bar without a look back to the others. That empty look in the pilot's eyes and the angry words haunted him as he took a seat and waved for a shot of whiskey.

"Hn." Heero growled and stormed after Duo. "Was that necessary? Do you have any idea what you just said to him?"

Duo paused to look at the Japanese pilot next to him. "Yeah." He offered the joint to Heero, returning it to his mouth when the other pilot shot him a dirty look. "I know what I said, I don't really give a fuck. Now, is there something you wanted?"

He scowled at him. "What's wrong with you? I'm going to assume the engagement with Hilde is off, considering her reaction outside the bar. What did you do to mess that up?"

"What do you care?" Duo shrugged and took another hit. "Not like it was love anyway… by the way you're still a fucking dick."

"And you're acting like a child." He reached for the joint and glared at Duo when he missed. "He was worried, you should know. When you left. He still worries about you. You shouldn't have been so harsh to him. You should also know he mentioned that we should find you while here." Heero turned to leave and glanced back over his shoulder at the pilot who now looked more like one of the street rats he once told stories about. "I'll let you get back to your smoke. See you later."

"Tell him Heero. Tell him what you saw. I'm not worth it." Duo smirked and waved.

* * *

He felt a hand patting him down and he swung an arm out towards it, stopping any advances. He went for his knife, but stopped as a strong arm gripped his wrist. He opened his eyes and flinched, seeing black eyes staring back into his own. He sat up, head throbbing and body shaking. "Wufei. Why are you here?"

"I should ask you the same thing." He helped him stand up and looked him over. "But considering Hilde mentioned leaving your stuff with Howard last night, I'm going to assume that means she kicked you out of the house and this box was your go-to and leave it at that." He noted that Duo seemed tired and disoriented. Remembering the little diner around the corner he started walking. "Come on. Let's get some coffee."

"Hm? Oh." He stood up and followed after the Chinese pilot. "What time is it?"

"It's about 4:30 in the morning. I was on my way for breakfast and saw you. I thought you'd like to join." He held the door open for him then lead the way to a booth in the back. "Two coffees. Black," he told the server when she asked for drinks. Wufei raised an eyebrow at how unsteady Duo looked as he slid into the booth across the table. "Anything else?"

"Naw, I'm good with just coffee." Duo rubbed a hand over his face then let it run over his hair. He smiled and took the coffee from the waitress as she came back. With a quick gulp he downed half the cup, then pulled a flask from his inner pocket. With shaky hands he dumped it into his cup, then started sipping eagerly. "What brings you to L2?"

"Quatre is meeting with some diplomats about the issues the colonies have with the new government. Since some of the most serious complaints have been coming from L2, he insisted on starting here." He paused and watched as Duo doctored the coffee and his shaking stilled with each sip from the mug. "After the last time he tried to mediate a fight between political leaders, Trowa insisted on extra security detail." There was of course more to it than just that, but he wasn't certain that should be shared with the pilot. At least not in his current condition and after the events from the night before.

"Hmm…" Duo looked thoughtful for a moment and downed the rest of his coffee. "The government on L2 is taking care of its self. We don't need outside help, we have it under control."

"Oh? Quatre was saying that the meetings had been going about as well as they had before. People are bickering and there's talk of some uprising trying to overthrow the system." Since when did Duo get so upset over things like government and such? Wufei knew he had a past with the colony and identified with others who had come from a similar situation, but this was different.

"It's not just talk." Duo set his mug down. "No one on L2 identifies with the government… no one. It doesn't matter how well Quatre's little talks go. Being here is a waste and dangerous for him, for you." He flagged the waitress down, holding his cup up for more coffee.

Wufei frowned and got a refill as well. "You say so as if you know more about it than you're letting on."

"I know everything that happens in L2. It's my business." Duo poured what was left in the flask in his coffee, his shaking gradually under control. "How've you been, anyway?"

"I've been well. Work. Preventers." He eyed the mug. "What is that?"

"You'd be gross out if I told you." Duo leaned back in his chair and smiled. "How'd Une take my notice?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Just as I'm sure you expected her to take it. She laughed until she realized that meant she was one man short of trainers and had a whole new class of recruits coming in for orientation the next week. By the way, you owe me."

"Owe you for what?"

"All of it. Une gave me your job of training the new Preventers. I'm sure you remember just how painful an experience that can be. Heero finished your paperwork. I doubt you owe him, though, considering he didn't like your system of filing anyways." He snickered at the memory of the look of disgust on Heero's face. Filing for Duo had been more like various stacks of stained papers and jammed files strewn all over the office, while the filing cabinet itself held a wide array of snacks and pop. "But you do owe me for handling all those-" He left off when he realized he couldn't find an adequate word to describe the situation.

"So… you're basically telling me it took two of you to cover the work of a part-time preventer?" Duo smirked. "Figures." He looked out the window, hands behind his head. "How long did it take Quatre…" he scrunched his face up in thought, "…to get with Trowa? To get over me?"

Wufei saw the flicker of remorse, guilt, regret, something… cross Duo's face briefly. It took him a moment, staring into his mug before he figured out just how to answer those two questions. Because, in reality, though Duo's voice indicated he saw them as the same question, there were two answers. "They 'hooked up' immediately. But Trowa put an end to that situation after 3 months of that, and demanded that if that was the way things were going to be between them, he wanted nothing of it. They've been together since." He watched the pilot's reaction, wondering just what was in that flask that calmed him from the shakes so quickly. "I can't say that he ever totally got over you. Last night they fought after Quatre proceeded to get sloshed after what you told him."

[1]

Duo smirked. "He just missed the sex. Odd, that he was like that. Business types usually are." He couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. He'd given the blonde everything he had, still loved him, then Quatre jumped into bed with Trowa as soon as he walked out the door. "Ain't life a fucking bitch?" He laughed and downed his coffee. "I gotta take care of some errands, Fei."

[2]

"It wasn't just that. Don't think so little of him." He scowled and finished off his own coffee, certain at this point that they were not drinking for the same reason. "Mind if I join?"

"You won't like what you see. Are you sure?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I have nothing else to do today. And it's been a while since I've seen you."

"Fei… there are things I get into you'd rather not see." Duo stood slowly and pushed his chair in. "If you want to follow me, that's fine. But I don't want to hear what you have to say about my actions."

Wufei stood, put some cash on the table for the coffee and the server's time, then nodded. "Lead on."

[3][4]

Duo led him down the street, nodding occasionally as he passed someone. "Fei… are you sure about this? You might see something you don't like."

"To be honest, I already have."

"What?"

The Chinese pilot was silent as he walked beside Duo. If it was anything to risk his position with the Preventers, then he could leave. Otherwise, he'd stay.

"Don't know where to start, huh?" Duo smirked. "Figures."

"Not necessarily." He was about to continue when a short, grungy kid walked up and said, "Hey, man. Ya got anythin' today? Or still tapped?"

[5]

"Gotta half." Duo shrugged. "What are you looking for? I just got a shipment today."

"I've got fiddy. Whatever ya got for that." He shrugged and gave him a smirk, before looking Wufei up and down. The kid glanced back at Duo, but didn't question him.

"A nickel or some blow. Whatever."

Wufei frowned. Duo was right, he didn't like what he saw, but he'd agreed to not saying anything. The kid pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and held it out. "Nickel works for now. Catch ya later tonight at Horn?" The Chinese pilot raised and eyebrow and waited for the kid to leave.

Duo handed the kid a baggy and took the money and shoved it in his pocket. "Yeah, got some gel strips I'm trying to get rid of." He nodded. "Got some work to do tonight, too. Later bro."

The kid stashed the bag under his hat and smiled. "See ya then." Wufei watched the kid leave then turned and looked back at Duo. "Horn? Work?"

"Horn house. Party. I deal sometimes, among other things."

"Hm. Quite the change from your previous job."

"We can't all be model citizens and preventers, hell, I stole my gundam, remember?" Duo gave him a look before he started walking again. "If you don't like what you see, you can always leave."

"I suppose you're right about that." Let him interpret that as he chose.

"Hm." Duo crossed his arms behind his head. "I didn' think you'd stick around." He stopped just outside the liquor store. "I gotta get something."

Wufei leaned against the wall and waited for Duo to come back out. He eyed the paper bag and gave him a questioning look.

"Jack." He smirked as he poured the bottle into his flask.

"At least you have decent tastes if you're going to waste your cash on something like that."

"Yeah, better than Wild Irish Rose." He smirked and downed what was left in the bottle.

"What next?"

"You got a hotel room?" He raised an eyebrow. "Private?"

He studied Duo, wondering just how much he'd really had to drink, and how strong that stuff in his flask before had been. "Yes. We thought it would be safer to scatter, rather than remain in the same hotel."

Duo grinned and walked towards Wufei, pressing their bodies together and ran his hand on the side of Wufei's face, running it to the back of his head. "Sleep with me."

"Depends on what you mean by that?" It may have been over a year, but he still knew the braided pilot well enough to know that what he said and what he meant weren't always the same thing. He had been upset when Duo left, but respected his decision to go. Now he was wondering if the same feelings he'd once had for the unavailable pilot were still there, now that he was available.

Duo smirked and turned, pressing his back against Wufei, making sure that his ass ground against the Chinese pilot's hips. "I meant sleep, but if you want to fuck me, I wouldn't say no… that is, if you think you can give it fast and rough."

Wufei bit the inside of his cheek and took a small step back before he did something he was sure to regret. "Hm…"

Duo took another step back, pressing their bodies close again and slid his arms behind him, running up Wufei's sides. He leaned his head back on the Chinese pilot's shoulder and moaned in his ear as he rubbed against Wufei's hips again. "What do you say?"

* * *

Wufei kicked the door shut with his foot as his hands supported Duo's ass. Their mouths were still locked together in a kiss as he pressed Duo's against the wall. Using one hand to brace himself he leaned hard into Duo's hips and began to rock into him.

Duo couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he ran his nails up under the back of Wufei's shirt. He bit down on Wufei's lip and slammed his hips back in retaliation, making sure to squeeze his legs tightly around the other's waist. "I want you to hurt me."

"You said rough, didn't you?" The pilot muttered against Duo's throat as he backed away from wall, tossing the braided pilot onto the bed. He smirked down as he watched him lay back on the bed. Clamping down on the voice in the back of his mind, he prowled up the bed on all fours until he was looking down at Duo's eyes. "You are familiar with the Kama Sutra, are you not?"

"I'm skilled in more than you think." He tightened his legs around the Chinese pilot's middle. "What did you have in mind?"

[6]

He grinned as a mischievous thought crossed his mind. It was his turn to give Duo a shock. "Ancient Chinese Secret." Lowering himself on top of the pilot, his tongue flicked out and he licked from the hollow at the base of Duo's throat and back up to his mouth, dipping in briefly to explore behind his lips before lifting himself up to smile at him again. "Any questions?"

"No." Duo grinned. "I'm a fast learner."

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**Author Notes: **Don't ask. For some strange reason we thought it would be entertaining to write this chapter while drinking. This is the first chance we've had to drink and hang out together in 3 years. I'm sorry if this scares you all, but we can't help it. We've been besties for about 12 years now. So you'll have to forgive us our spasticness.

[1] We start drinking

[2] The spoons we just licked to try to put on our noses, just became our ice cream scoops to make our Guinness floats.

[3] This is one of Cltc's pet peeves. Tip your servers not just for the food, but for time if you only get coffee. She used to serve and it's a waste of the server's time and energy and costs them money (taxes) if you don't tip. So shell out, ppl. That's one way Cltc used to afford gas moneys. =)

[4] Foxy continued to drink and thought about slapping Cltc.

[5] Foxy is retarded and can't spell. So she's just screaming at me, "KEEP TYPIN', DAMMIT!"

[6] Foxy just chugged the last half of a melted pint of vanilla ice cream left over from our Guinness floats. Cltc is thoroughly grossed out. Foxy thought it was pretty f-ing hot.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: We don't own Gundam Wing. If we did, Cltc wouldn't have to work extra hours to afford gas money to visit Foxy.**

We were so excited to see reviews come in so fast on this! Keep 'em coming. We'll do our best to reply to them as quickly as possible. Extra kudos to Angel's Smile for giving us the longest review either of us has ever seen. LOL All reviews fed some plot bunnies and we're doing our best to continue as fast as we can. "I'm givin' her all I got capt'n!" --- Quote, anybody?

Oh, and Foxy wants me to let ya'll know we've got some pics of us hanging out and goofing off to put up some time soon. We'll let ya'll know when and where to look when we do. For a teaser, check out our profiles, both individual and joint for some fun pics we took and edited. =)

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He crossed the hotel room quietly, keeping his movements slow as he picked up his clothes. He'd learned over time that Wufei would continue to sleep as long as he didn't feel threatened. He slid on his leather pants, smirking at the memory of the Chinese pilot yanking them off and tossing them across the room, along with his comment about leather. He picked up the long sleeve thermal top next and pulled it on, glancing at Wufei to make sure he was still asleep. He slid his shoes on, then carefully grabbed his wallet and chain, proud that it didn't make the slightest sound.

Duo gave one last glance to Wufei and smiled at the sleeping form. He wasn't exactly happy about walking out on the other pilot, but he didn't want to stick around to see Wufei's reaction to what happened between them.

Briefly he wondered how the other pilots were in bed and toyed with the thought of trying for the last two, then pushed it aside. He'd have to give it thought later, his head was killing him from the coke running out of his system and he was coming down hard. He'd done enough to Wufei without having to expose him to his drug use as well. He gave a final sigh and made his way to the door without glancing back.

Done was done.

Wufei sat up at the sound of the door opening. For a moment in that fuzzy mental state after a waking, he forgot what had happened. So when he saw Duo standing in the door he had to justify why it was the braided pilot was in his room in the first place. "Duo?" Why was he trying to sneak out? He seemed frazzled over something. Wufei was fairly certain that it wasn't over their morning activities, but then he could be wrong about that. He clamped down on the guilt and ensuing train of thought from that memory. The Chinese pilot wasn't quite ready to handle that bout of conscience just yet.

Duo froze as he heard Wufei's voice and turned slowly, smiling at the Chinese pilot. "Hey."

"Where are you going?"

"I was just heading out to take care of a few things." He leaned against the doorframe. "Unless you had other ideas?"

He looked Duo over, noting how he shifted his demeanor at the question. "Perhaps we should talk for a bit."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Duo scratched the back of his head nervously. High he could do anything, but this was the first time he'd had to face any of them sober and it wasn't something he'd been looking forward to.

"And that's really why you tried to leave without waking me up." It was more a statement than a question. "We should still talk anyway."

Duo closed the door and made his way back to the bed. He sat on the edge and smirked. "Want to get dressed first or do you prefer to talk in the nude?"

Wufei blushed slightly and reached for his pants discarded on the floor next to him in their earlier haste. Pulling them on under the cover of the comforter, he gave the pilot a scowl then leaned against the headboard. "About this. And you." He searched for the right words to describe the thoughts blazing through his mind 90 miles per hour, but nothing he came up with had the right effect or same meaning. He fumbled for what to say next.

"Ah, yeah… that." Duo looked away again. "Right. Ok… so you want to know why. Among other things, right?" He traced a finger over the floral print of the comforter. Who picked hotel blankets anyway? They were always flowery and ugly. He hated them.

"That about sums it up." He paused to stare at the door, before turning his attention back on Duo. "It's been over a year. And you clearly are not the same Duo that left back then. I'm not sure if I should think this is something from the new Duo that's a one-time-only event, considering your attempt to sneak out. Or if I should think this is something else." The Chinese pilot thought back to before and just how he'd felt about the braided pilot then. He was more and more sure that the feelings weren't quite the same. But there was still some attraction of some sort there. "Why did you do it?" While he was sorting out his own thoughts on the matter, he figured it would be best to know Duo's.

"I was sneaking out to save you some trouble. As for the rest of it, that's personal. But get to the point, 'Fei. You're going to tell me it won't work, right? So let's just get down to it and skip all the dancing around, 'cause I got work to do."

He scowled and felt his anger start to rise, but clamped down on that. Quatre hadn't been the only one needing some time to heal. Duo had left for the same reason. Yelling at him now wasn't going to help matters at all. "That wasn't what I intended to say in so many words, but you're most likely right. We probably wouldn't work out. Not that today wasn't, well. Yes. However the case may be…" He lost his train of thought as he continued to search for the right words. Normally it wasn't so hard to establish just how he felt about certain matters. But in this case he found it was impossible to maintain coherent thoughts or valid arguments that he didn't believe the braided pilot would be able to turn around on him again.

Duo sighed and stood up. "Look, it's fine, alright? You're a preventer, you have morals and I'm just a junkie street rat… I've learned my lesson about getting attached to anyone, so don't worry about it." He started for the door again.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. So don't try to turn it into that."

"What, into the truth?" Duo turned and smiled. "I don't lie Wufei. If it isn't that, look me in the eye and say that what I've become doesn't bother you. You liked the Duo from the past… and that's what I gave you."

Wufei stood and crossed the room to put a hand against the door, preventing Duo from simply walking out. "That may be so. I may have liked the Duo from the past. But events happened that changed that Duo into who you are now. I can't simply ignore that. I won't lie and say that I completely approve of the way you live your life now. However, it's not my place to approve or disapprove either way. All I can do is tell you what I think and have you take that as you will." He paused to consider his next words carefully. "I did like Duo from the past. But I can't justify alienating the Duo of now. You're still a friend and I can't simply discard that fact. So whether or not you like it, you're going to have to deal with it. If you want me to go and leave you alone, pretend nothing happened, I will. But you tell me to do that. Until then, I will still be the friend I've tried to be for you. Regardless of outside factors." There. Duo could take it or leave it as he so chose. But at least Wufei had finally found the words to express himself.

"Here I was trying to give you a perfectly good out and you go and fuck that up." He moved towards the Chinese pilot and leaned against him. "I don't want to forget that happened. Actually, I'd rather do it again, even if nothing came of it. But we don't always get what we want, do we?"

"No we don't. So why don't you tell me exactly what it is you want. Considering you were the one to make the first move, I only see it fair for you to clarify that. Then we move on from there." He ran his free hand through his hair, still loose to his shoulders. It was more distracting with Duo leaning against him like that, but at least he could use the pilot's own words against him to work things out one way or another.

Duo looked thoughtful, then ran a hand up Wufei's bare chest, lightly brushing with his fingertips. "You."

Taking hold of Duo's wrist he pulled the pilot's hands away from his chest. "That's not what I asked. Try again."

"You asked me what I want. You. There are lots of things I want." He looked at the floor. "Some of them you don't want to know."

"I won't be your next escape." He backed the braided pilot into the wall, released his wrists, then placed his own palms against the wall on either side of Duo's head. "So don't include me in the list of things you want like that. If you want me at all, then you deal with all of me. Remember when you joked about me being the dragon?" Wufei paused and waited for a sign of recognition before continuing. "You have to deal with all of me if you're going to deal with me at all. There's little enough honor in any of this situation at all. However, the bit that remains, I refuse to taint with becoming your next fix." He smirked. "Yes. Fix. I'm not unaware of what someone coming down from a high looks like, Duo. And I wasn't so blind with lust that I didn't notice the track marks on your arms."

"Naw, not a fix. Not addiction. You're good enough for it though." He smirked and bowed his head. "I said I _want_, if you were a fix I would _need_ you. I want you, I want a lot of things."He let himself slide down the wall a little. "I _need_ coke, I _need _heroin. And right now, I need it pretty badly."

Dark eyes watched the once proud pilot sink down a bit. "Want and need may be two different things. However, which is more important to you: your wants or your needs? That doesn't mean which is stronger. I asked which is more important."

"Wants."

"Are you sure?"

"My wants are more important. Unless you mean air and food, that's kind of important, too."

He narrowed his eyes, but couldn't suppress the small smirk. It was a hint of the old Duo. And that was more than he'd seen even when the pilot tried. "Then you don't need a fix. If you want me, then you don't need that."

"It's not like that." He turned his head to the side, studying the arm in front of him. "It's not that easy."

"Well, as you said, you can't always get what you want." Wufei took one hand from the wall and placed it against Duo's cheek. "Sometimes wants take sacrifice. You go to that party tonight. I won't stop that. You do whatever it was you planned on doing. Except, if you want me, then you don't take anything while you're there. If you want a fix, remember just what it is you really want. Understand?"

Duo's head snapped back hard enough to bounce of the wall. "I…" He swallowed hard and bit his lip. "Alcohol?"

"I'm not heartless." He smirked. "But that doesn't mean you can make it your replacement escape."

"Sounds pretty heartless to me." He lowered his head again. "You don't know what it's like."

"I'm a jealous man. I don't enjoy coming in second to substances of any sort."

Duo bit his lip again, dropping his eye sight to the floor. "I…"

"You….?" He raised an eyebrow and waited for Duo to continue.

"I've tried to quit before."

"And you can't try again? With help?"

"I'll try."

"Promise." The Chinese pilot knew he was playing dirty, but in this case it was the best way to get Duo to cooperate. He knew the braided pilot wasn't lying when he said he'd try, but he still wanted more than just that from him. If things were going to go anywhere between them, there were certain matters that had to be dealt with. This was one of them, and he planned on dealing with it then and there. "Promise you will try to avoid, refuse, deny and/or reject any substances at that party tonight. Alcohol is your one exclusion, within reason."

"I promise."

"Then you won't mind if go along with."

"No, but you may see some things you won't like. Drugs included."

Wufei stepped back and returned to sitting on the bed, leaving Duo free to move once more. "I believe we've already established that. I'll deal with things as I need, when I need. You should be concerned with keeping your promises, rather than with what I will encounter. Unless there's something more you'd like to share. Some clarification on just what it is I should expect to encounter at that party?"

Duo sat down on the bed next to him, bowing his head. "I, uh, have some 'exes,' fellowantigovernmentrebels, maybe an angry dealer or two, and lots of drugs."

"I believe there was something in there I didn't hear right. Fellow what?" He watched Duo's eyes staring at the floor. The braided pilot held himself the same way he did when he was proud of something. Not bowed over in shame. Just what did he say to elicit that sort of demeanor?

"Anti-government rebels." He turned to look Wufei in the eyes.

The Chinese pilot closed his eyes and took a breath. "That would be what you meant at the diner when you said no one agreed with the government. You include yourself in that?"

He grinned. "I lead that."

His eyes opened and he found himself a bit taken aback at the words coming from the pilot's mouth so proudly. "Come again?"

"Right now? You're a kinky bastard, 'Fei."

Wufei shot him a nasty look. "So is that where your loyalties lie then? Or do you have any of those left?" He bit his tongue the moment the words left his mouth.

"Nope, not really." He scratched the back of his head again. He dreaded Wufei finding out about the exes, no reason to fuel the flames though, so he pushed that thought aside. "I don't betray the preventers to them, so I'd like it if you didn't ask me about the rebels."

"Another thing I don't exactly approve of. However, there is a difference between supporting someone and betraying someone. As long as you avoid the latter." He looked away, filing that thought away to deal with at another time. "Is there anything else I won't like to see? Or have you covered it all?"

"I've told you everything." He laid back, running his shaking hands through his hair. "Distract me, please."

Wufei leaned over him with a smirk. "Does that count as a want or a need?"

"Yes."

* * *

This is getting fun, isn't it? Are you excited yet? If so, let us know.

Hm. That rhymed. I'm a poet and didn't know it. Ahahahahahahaa!

~Cltc *runs before Foxy can beat her again*


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: We don't own Gundam Wing. If we did, Cltc wouldn't have to work extra hours to afford gas money to visit Foxxy.**

This was being posted as ffnet went down Saturday night. I almost got to post it two more times, but it always went down as I got into my document manager again. Barf-a-saurus. Plus Foxxy and her daughter are sick. Horridly so. Yuckers.

**Warnings: Hilde gets bashed a bit in this chapter. Don't worry, we clear her name in the next chapter. (Next chapter we praise her basically.) **

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Quatre's head pounded and the motion of the car made him feel sick. Maybe those whiskey shots weren't such a brilliant idea, after all. He leaned his head against the cool glass of the door window. Closing his eyes he tried to focus on the meeting he had in an hour, rather than the fight from last night. To be quite honest, he didn't really remember most of what was said between him and Trowa. All he remembered was seeing Duo outside that bar, going in and hammering down some shots, then some time later he and Trowa were yelling at each other over something. His stomach lurched when the car hit a bump and he gripped the handle on the door. Finally the car came to a stop outside the building and he flung the door open, never so eager to be out of a moving vehicle.

Trowa closed his car door and circled around to Quatre's side. "If you are sick, you should postpone the meeting."

"I'm fine. We need to get this sorted out as soon as possible. I just need a moment to regain my footing." He leaned against the car and stared at the impossible 10 foot walk to the door. It's ok. I'm a gundam pilot. I can do this. The words were meant to be a reassurance to himself that he could make it and would be alright. But between the migraine and motion sickness, he wasn't totally convinced.

"Don't push yourself." He leaned against the car, their shoulders touching. "You can barely stand." He handed the blonde pilot a bottle of water. "Drink this… it'll help."

"Hm. Thank you." Quatre took the bottle and sipped at the cool water. "That does help. Thank you again, Trowa." He smirked and leaned his head back. "Maybe I should have listened when you told me to take those pills last night."

"I'd rather not talk about that." He crossed his arms over his chest.

He winced. It wasn't fair to Trowa that he'd reacted so strongly to Duo's words. They shouldn't have bothered him as much, but seeing the braided pilot like that had stirred up a whole set of emotions he thought he'd had firmly locked away. "Sorry." He twisted the cap back on the bottle and pushed away from the car. After a brief moment of nausea, he regained composure and straightened his suit. "I should be getting ready for that meeting."

"Yeah." He grabbed Quatre's wrist and pulled the blonde pilot close to him. "Be careful, though. I worry about you."

"I know you do." He looked up into the taller pilots green eyes. It wasn't a surprise to see a bit of pain mixed with that concern. "That's part of why we fought so hard." He bit his lip and looked down again. "Sorry. I'll not bring it up again."

"You don't remember it, do you?"

"Last night?" He continued to chew on his lip and avoid Trowa's eyes. "Not much after I punched you for taking away my last shot."

Trowa smiled down at him. "You're cute like that."

He looked up and frowned. "When I'm drunk and angry?" That didn't make any sense. Last night, he thought he remembered that Trowa was upset with him because he was drunk and upset over Duo. It wasn't fair to him for Quatre to still have some feelings for Duo, even after over a year. But what was done was done and now today he had to deal with his actions. No matter how hung over he felt about it.

"Well before the argument. And right now." He hugged Quatre tighter. "You're cute when you try to be scary." He grinned into the blonde's hair.

Quatre hugged onto Trowa and smiled into his shirt. "Hm. Well as nice as this is right now, I need to get to that meeting." He pulled away just enough to turn and look back at the building. "I really don't want to, but I have to. We can have lunch after, barring all explosions and excessively long , pointless arguments making us get out too late." The blonde looked back at him and grinned.

"That sounds hard, do you think you can handle that?"He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Quatre's forehead. "I'll be waiting for you."

"Well you know my thing for explosions, but I'll try my best." He tilted his head up and gave the taller pilot a demanding look.

Trowa smirked, then pressed his lips to the blonde's. "You're very demanding."

"I certainly hope it hasn't taken you all this time to puzzle it over and realize that just now." He leaned up and gave Trowa one last kiss before turning toward the building. "I'm going to be late. Thank you for the water. I'll try to keep drinking some until we break for lunch."

* * *

Wufei looked around the room as they entered the house. Instantly, the smell of smoke and alcohol burned its way through his nostrils. He'd been about to mention something to Duo when something pink and an unearthly shade of bright green suddenly clung to the braided pilot.

"Suga' tits!" Duo wrapped his arms around her and spun her around. "Damn honey, you look hot tonight."

She grinned and stepped back. "It's the tits. You know you love them when I wear this shirt." Her hand went to either side of her chest and lifted her boobs toward him proudly.

The Chinese pilot was torn between horror and a strong desire to grab Duo and go back to the hotel. No. It would be ok. Duo promised to behave, and he promised not to judge to harshly.

Duo reached out and grabbed her chest. "Yup. I sure do."

'Suga tits' gave him a coy smile as she stepped closer and pressed up against the braided pilot. "You know that invite still stands. You ever want to see them without the hot shirt, you let me know." She glanced over to where Wufei stood stunned a few feet behind him. "You can bring your boyfriend with you. He's hot."

Wufei felt his face go hot. He wasn't quite sure if it was from embarrassment or anger. But this woman was just appallingly. He glanced at Duo and raised an eyebrow.

Duo grinned back at him, then turned to the girl again. "That's the kind you don't share." He grinned.

She pouted and moved over to the Chinese pilot. "Well I want to know what he thinks." She grinned at him. "Care to see 'em? They're the best you'll find in this room. Don't let Kitty tell you otherwise."

"Kitty?"

"You're braided boyfriend. Hello?" Suga tits put her hand on her hip and turned to look back at Duo. "Well, you know where to find me. Just to give you a heads up, Peaches is in the back. She said she has something for you."

"In that case, I'm going upstairs first." He swatted her but as she strutted out to the next room.

Wufei looked at Duo. "I'll assume that counts as one of those things you said I might not want to see here?"

"The resident slut, she's harmless."

He doubted the full honesty of that statement, but followed the braided pilot up the stairs anyway.

Duo peeked his head into the first room on the left. "Have any of you all seen my little Maraschino Cherry?"

"End of the hall."

"Thanks." He skipped down the rest of the hall, looking over his shoulder to be sure the Chinese pilot was still following him. Stopping outside the door he looked at Wufei and held out a hand to stop him. "Hold on, lemme sweeten her up real quick." Stepping into the room he gave his biggest smile. "Mary, Mary, sweet lil Cherry. I've got something for you."

"Kitty." A redheaded girl slowly crossed the room before jumping on him.

He caught her and backed against the wall when she suddenly wrapped her arms and legs around him. "Hey there, sweet thang." Duo gave her a peck on the nose and then grinned. "I brought you a present. If want it. Something to get on Trevor's good side. That is if you're still an item."

"Yeah… about that… he's out for your blood, you know?" She grinned real big. "He's hard to get rid of. Anyway, you know I love your presents. I'll take whatever you'll give me." She winked. "Speaking of which, Hilde was here with Mark."

"I'm sure he is." He winced when Cherry mentioned his recent ex-fiance and her new beau. "Really? I thought she didn't like 'dumps like this' and 'trash-talking street scum.' Did she decide she needs her own fix now or what?" Duo lowered her gently to the ground.

Wufei stood in the door way. He figured it was safer to not say anything and let Duo do the talking.

"Actually Trevor and Mark and practically business partners. They are super close. Trev wants me to start hanging with Hilde." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, last I saw of her she'd mistakenly run into Peaches, so I'm not too sure how that turned out. I can see that you haven't found Peaches yet."

He smirked. "I came to see you first of course. You're my Cherry on the sundae. It doesn't surprise me that they are. I don't know what it is you see in him. You're too sweet to be with him. When are you going to leave him for me? I mean, Hil is out of the picture now…" He gave her a sly grin, before glancing back to see the Chinese pilot gritting his teeth in an attempt to keep his mouth shut.

"I don't see anything in him, but… uh, don't worry about it." She pinched his cheek. "You know you're my number one, Duo. But you're new boy doesn't look so pleased about that." She winked. "He's pretty hot, glad you saw that you could do better. Now how about you tell me about these presents so you can take him home and show him how much you care."

Wufei folded his arms over his chest and glared at the girl. After a moment he gave up being angry and just smirked. If there was any bit of the old Duo left, the more he talked, the less he walked. Even so, the braided pilot had some promises to keep with him.

Duo shot the other pilot a look and snickered. "Ah, Wu doesn't mind. And I know just how much he cares." He gave him a wink then took a seat next to where Cherry had been before. "Well, here's the deal. I just got this shipment in, that I need to unload quick like. I'm thinkin' about giving up the business and I don't need a load of baggage following me. See what I mean?" He glanced over his shoulder at the Chinese pilot and gave him a meaningful look. "So I thought it would be a bit of a peace offering to offer Trevor first dibs on what I have for half the cost. And you know I've always had higher quality. Just like me. Only the best."

She looked thoughtful a moment. "Naw, can't take that offer. I'll pay you full price though." She smirked. "You need it, not my cash anyway. I'll take everything you got, tell Trev it was free. Don't make any deals on his part Kitty. You avoid him at all costs, you know he's an asshole, I wouldn't doubt that he's with some whore right now. Hook me up and go see Peaches, she'll have news."

"I'm not taking all your money. But if you can agree to half, I wont tell him that it's from me."

"Sweetie, it's his money." She grinned. "You couldn't get mine unless you're offering that hot body of yours. Full price or nothing."

"Well if it's his money you're spending, then it's his money I'm taking." Duo smirked and kissed the top of her head as he stood. "And you'll have to fight 'Fei-fei for my boo-tay." He wiggled his butt at her as he walked out, grabbing hold of the front of Wufei's shirt on the way and dragging him back into the hall.

Wufei raised an eyebrow and gripped Duo's wrist before turning him around and backing him into the wall. "Fei-fei? No. But I'm glad to hear you're quitting business."

"I made a promise, didn't I?" He gave the pilot a half smile before looking back to the room they just left. "But damn is it hard. I want some bad just being here and thinking about unloading."

The Chinese pilot placed a hand on the side of Duo's face briefly. "You did promise." After a moment, he released the braided pilot and stepped away. "Now explain something to me, just why are all your female friends named after fruit?"

"Uh, well." He grinned. "It's a long story, and they are quite wild, but I figured you'd be more concerned with the Kitty nickname."

"Oh, I'm curious about that one as well. But I think we should take the shocking information slowly." He swatted Duo's butt and pointed at the stairs. "I believe you've been told Peaches is waiting with something for you. Then we should get out of here, since you've accomplished your objective of unloading."

"Hmph. No good story for you then. If she comes close to you, leave your guard up." He made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. "Peaches!"

A head of curly red hair looked up and green eyes glared at the braided pilot. She hopped off the counter and put her cup down. Her smirk dared him to come closer.

Duo held up his hands in surrender. "I see I've caught you at your finest… I've heard you've got something for me?"

"Of course." Her hand flew out and slapped him with a resound crack. "Hey there Ass-face." She grinned and ruffled his hair with the same hand. "What's with talking to Cherry before me? I'm insulted."

"How do you two do that?" He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. A hand pressed to his cheek. "Anyway, she said you have some news."

"Secret. You'll never know." She grinned. "Of course I have news. Don't I always?" She hopped back up on the counter and took a long drink. Her eyes turned on the Chinese pilot. "But first you share. Who's t he dark and yummy guy hovering behind you? Think he'd like a tall glass of peachie tea?"

Duo took one look at the expression on Wufei's face before he started laughing. "He may like danger, but not that much. This is Wufei." He smirked. ''Now share your news." He leaned over and took the drink from her hand, sipping on it.

"Don't drink all of it, hog." She frowned at him before tucking her feet under her. "Well, here's the scoop. So Hilde-dilde was here strutting around with her boy toy, talking trash and being a bitch. And don't you tell me I'm biased, because I don't care. I don't like her. Anyways, she opened her ugly mouth and said something. So I put my fist in her face and told her what we did that weekend she had the three day trip to L-3." Peaches grinned proudly and reached for her drink back. "The rest will cost ya."

Duo face palmed. "You told her that? Cause she already found out about Cherry and now Trevor is buds with her and Mark. I just want you to know I knocked a few of his teeth out for you. I would've made a necklace, but the bouncers kicked me out before I could pick up his teeth. So I want to hear the rest of your news, name your price."

She pinched his cheeks and kissed his nose. "I take back the mean things I said about you. You're a doll. My price? Hmm…. Let me think….." She slid off the counter and walked in a circle around Wufei, looking him up and down. "How about the next time you order take out, remember to bring me some. Unless you wanna share?"

Duo bit his lip and refused to meet Wufei's eyes. He held back his laughter and shook his head. "I'll bring you a doggie bag next time I hit the buffet."

"You better. This looks yummy." She sighed and returned to her spot on the counter. "Well since you were so nice and took care of Mark, then I suppose I'll give you a discount." She took another sip and smiled. "How would you like to be a fly on the wall in that closed door meeting those big government bozos are having tomorrow?"

Duo stiffened slightly and glanced to Wufei. "Uh. About that." He scratched the back of his head. "Do you know who is attending?"

"Depends. Which side are you curious about?" She gave him a knowing grin.

"Who will be the mediator?"

"That golden-boy Winner kid everyone seems to worship." She rolled her eyes. "I suppose he is their best choice, but honestly…."

Duo shook his head. "Take it or send Cherry."

She pouted. "Aww. But I wanted some company. It's no fun getting into mischief without our Kitty-kitty."

"I, uh, recuse myself… conflict of interest." He smiled.

"You suck."

"Yeah, I didn't hear you complaining last time. Anyway, call me tonight and we'll talk, alright? I gotta drop some stuff off for Cherry."

"Oh, so I see how it is. You see her first and offer her first dibs. But for me, you come steal my drink, don't share your hottie-tottie Chinese take-out and then ditch on me? I'm offended. I take back my take back. Mean statements stand." She crossed her arms and pouted.

"I know Cherry will share with you. So don't try to give me that." He smirked and finished off her drink. "I've gotta go, do not forget to call me." He gave her a look.

"Ass-face." She threw the empty cup at the back of his head. "You owe me for that!"

Wufei gave the girl one last disconcerted look before following Duo out the door. As they wove through the crowd of people getting thicker and more intoxicated by the minute, he stuck close behind the braided pilot. "There's no way they'll get in on that meeting. You do realize that can't happen. Correct?"

"False. I've been to every meeting on L2 so far." He turned and looked back at Wufei. "Those two shouldn't be taken lightly, either. Anyway, I'm not going to talk about it anymore… like I told you. So let's finish up here, because it's getting harder to say no by the minute."

The Chinese pilot frowned. He didn't like the sound of how certain Duo was about that. Then he noticed the same grungy looking kid from the street this morning waving from across the room.

"Hey, D-bag! Com'ere!"

"Ralph. What's up?"

"I've got somethin' for ya." He grinned and pulled out a length of rubber tubing and a bent spoon. "My treat. Pure."

Duo froze in his tracks, then glanced back at Wufei. "I can't."

Wufei watched Duo. He knew he wouldn't break his promise, but the temptation had to be unbearable.

"Aw, c'mon. This is the best I've had. Ya gotta try some of it." He held out the spoon. Wufei gave the kid a glare and grabbed his wrist. "He said no. Take it elsewhere." Ralph shrugged and jerked his arm back. "Fine. Whatever. I can see you've got something else better for now, then. Huh?" He glared at the Chinese pilot before heading for the door. "Lemme know if you change your mind."

Duo kept his eyes on the other pilot, but he was shaking. "Wufei…"

"No." He reached for Duo and started to steer him toward the door. As he tugged on the knob, a hand shot out and pushed the door closed again.

"Hey D-bag. Got a sec?"

"Not for you, Trevor." He turned slowly. "We were leaving."

"C'mon. Just a minute. I overheard you talkin' about leaving the biz. Thought we'd talk for a few, if you don' mind." He smiled and leaned against the door nonchalantly.

"There is nothing to talk about."

He shrugged. "You can't really still be holding a grudge. It's not like you. I swear I only need a minute of your time. Then you and your boyfriend can leave."

"You should be the one holding a grudge, but fine. You can have 5 minutes. That's it." He turned towards Wufei. "It'll just be a sec. Wait here."

Wufei gave him a look. "Don't forget what you said. I don't forgive broken promises lightly."

"I don't lie." He turned and walked away, following Trevor from the room. "So what did you need?"

Trevor led the way to one of the back rooms upstairs. "I thought we'd have a private chat for a moment, if you don't mind. Y'know. Mano a mano." He glanced over his shoulder at the braided pilot and held open the door. "After you."

"No way. You first."

He shrugged. "Fine with me." He entered and stood by the door, waiting. "Still that paranoid about entering a room first?" The guy smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe it's good you're leaving the business. Things could get hairy and you could get jumpy. I don't need something like that messing with my traffic. If you know what I mean."

"I just don't trust you... and you talk to fucking much." He entered the room. "No what do you want?"

He closed the door and smiled. "I hear you've got some stuff to unload before you go. Thought we might come to some sort of agreement on that."

"Do you always listen in to Cherry's conversations?"

"Who said I was listening to Cherry? Or even listening in, for that matter. I hear things, I know things. Maybe Peaches told me. She likes to share news. Among other things."

"Peaches can't fucking stand you. And I don't blame her. It doesn't matter, I've worked it out. I'm leaving."

"Wait just a second. I've got a going away gift for you."

"I don't want it. I'm done with this."

Trevor sidestepped, blocking the only exit through the door. "I thought you said you don't lie. Sounds to me you're just doing what you're told to do by that boyfriend of yours. He must really have you whipped."

"I don't lie. I don't want what you have." Duo moved forward. "Don't make me hurt you."

He tsked and shook his head. "So he really does have you pretty whipped then. Do you always do what he says?" He pulled out the syringe Ralph had been holding earlier. "See? I saved you my best as a going away gift."

Duo glared. "Move."

Two hands wrapped around Duo from behind, pinning his arms to his side. "Trevor was trying to be polite. And you go and fuck it up. I don't know what in the world Hilde saw in you."

"More than what she saw in you. I think Peaches got the better deal." Duo twisted in the hold, trying to free himself.

Mark held tighter and snickered. "Yeah, well. Doesn't matter either way. She came crawling back after that time she spent with you." Trevor laughed with him as he prepped. "Some tough pilot. You made setting this up way too damn easy."

Duo twisted, breaking the grip Mark held, and running for the door.

Taking a step to the side to let him out, he waited for the pilot to pass, lunging out with the needle and burying the point into the back of Duo's arm. "Enjoy the trip." He snickered and pressed down on the plunger.

Duo pushed his way out the door, fumbling down the stairs, cussing to himself. He finally made it to the living room and spotted Wufei looking rather uncomfortable on the couch with Cherry and Peaches on either side of him. They seemed to be enjoying it, while he had a pained expression. He stumbled forward and fell to his knees as he reach the couch. With one last glance to Wufei, he dropped his head on the chinese pilot's lap, giving in to the pull of the drug.

Wufei looked down, glad to finally see the braided pilot. Until said pilot put his head in his lap. "Duo?" He shook his shoulders lightly and lifted his face upward. Duo's skin was hot to the touch and he looked flush. The shallow breathing and relaxed, happy expression on the pilot's face was all he needed to see. "Liar." He pushed Duo's head from his lap and stood. "I hope it was worth it. See you around."

* * *

YAY! Cliffhanger ending for ya. (Next chapter starts right there. Hehe.) Now Cltc must return from whence she came. *SAD face* Anyways. I had fun hanging out and writing with Foxxy. But I have a hubby who misses me. We'll try to get the next chapter up soon. But I wont lie, it's a 14+ hour drive home and I work Monday. So probably Tuesday. (Notice how old that note is... thanks FFnet for going down as we saved this to upload it.)

Foxxy is telling me shut up. So I am. G'night all!!!

As Duo says... Cltc talks too fucking much. =D Notes from Foxxy: Peaches, Cherry, and Kitty are based off real people with their permission. It's also their nicknames. No likeness to anyone else's fictional characters. Also, Foxxy has dealt with a junkie, all information dealing with drugs is from our knowledge and experience. If you or anyone you know is addicted to something, get help. (Other than caffiene and ffnet.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: We don't own Gundam Wing. If we did, Cltc wouldn't have to work extra hours to afford gas money to visit Foxxy.**

Foxxy is sick, sick, sick. :( Expect sloooow updates. She has a sexy man voice. :(

The fluff in this chapter is dedicated to Standingontherooftops. For putting up with the dark to get to the fluff, many, many chapters later. Hehe.

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"Wufei... wait. Please."

He looked over to the doorway as he stepped over Duo lying on the floor. "What?"

"I need to talk to you. About Duo." Hilde rushed over to help the braided pilot off the floor, only to have Cherry smack her hands away. "You've done enough for Duo." The red head pulled him into her lap.

Peaches folder her arms over her chest and glared at Hilde. "Leave him alone." Wufei watched them help Duo onto the couch and turned to look at Hilde. "I think that said enough there."

"It's not his fault." She moved away from the two girls and Duo, grabbing Wufei's arm. "Just give me a minute, please?"

"What?"

"Duo didn't do it, he didn't want to. Help me get him out of here and I'll explain."

He studied her a moment then nodded. "Ladies, I'll take him from here. I'll be sure to let him know how hospitable you two have been and I thank you for your help." Scooping the braided pilot from Cherry's arms, he carried Duo to the door. "I hope it's a good explanation."

Hilde simply nodded. "Where are you taking him, I'll follow."

"To my hotel."

* * *

Once inside, Wufei deposited Duo on the bed and locked the door. Turning to lean against the door, he folded his arms across his chest and frowned at Hilde. "Explain."

She sat down on the bed next to Duo, studying him a moment before looking back to Wufei. "He was attacked, the heroin was forced on him, he didn't want it."

He flinched. "What do you mean attacked?"

"Trevor intentionally pulled Duo away from you to force the heroin on him. They were going to overdose him, but Duo ran from them, so he didn't get the full dosage."

"Did you know that was going to happen?" He crossed the room and took a seat on the other side of the bed. His eyes rested on Duo, still dazed and lying on the bed.

"Not really. I had an idea... but when I went to find Mark I overheard the conversation." She glanced back at Duo. "Sometimes he's responsive this way, sometimes he's not."

"Hm." The Chinese pilot turned his attention back to her. "So your boyfriend is also responsible for this?"

"Yes."

"How long will this take?"

"Anywhere from 30 minutes to 10 hours, depending on how much and how pure it was. Also, he'll start to get violent when he comes down. He might try to fight you, he has a hard time with it."

"I'll handle that." He watched the braided pilot for some time. Finally, he was able to put the questions in his mind into words. "What happened? He left us a little over a year ago. What happened since then?"

"I didn't mean for it to end up like this." Hilde shook her head. "After he left you, he came and found me at the salvage yard. Then one day he just proposed... out of the clear blue. It was too early, but I said yes anyway." She grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it. "He ran a few jobs with the sweepers... something went wrong then and he just... changed." She glanced back at Wufei. "Like how he became with Quatre. He was drinking then, too." She glanced back at Duo.

"So he told you about Quatre?" He looked up and studied her face. "And you still said yes. Interesting." His eyes drifted down to where her hand held one of Duo's. A pang of something, jealously maybe, clenched in his chest and he frowned. "What else?" May as well get the full story while he waited.

"Quatre was just as involved as Duo and he was honest in telling me. I didn't mind until he started drinking." She sat Duo's hand down carefully, turning so she could see Wufei more. "Then I started noticing changes in him... his money disappeared and he stayed out a lot. Sometimes he was up for days, he'd have tantrums, anything would set him off. Then some days he didn't come home. If he wasn't high, he was angry. I couldn't stand it any more, so I sent him to rehab. And that's when I met Mark."

"Some step up." He bit the words off and shook his head. "I apologize. It's not my place." Wufei looked at her. "So rehab didn't go very well then, did it? Hm."

Hilde hung her head. "Mark only deals. He doesn't use. But you're still right either way." She sighed. "Duo didn't want to go to rehab, nor did he want to get better. You can't change someone who doesn't want to be changed. After he was discharged he stopped the methadone[1] and started back into drugs, but not as hard. He was trying to hide it. He found out about Mark though, and he spent the night with a girl. Every time I stayed with Mark, he'd stay with Cherry or Peaches. We didn't speak of it, but we both knew. Mark ended up leaving Peaches and wanted to stay with me. Duo was drunk all the time, I never saw him sober any more. He was rough and out of control... so I stayed with Mark. I told Duo to leave and kicked him out. You ran into him that night at the bar."

So while Trowa had been doing all he could to help Quatre get better, Duo had simply been continuing on a downward spiral. Wufei could kick himself for doing nothing while a friend was in so much pain. "It seems everyone in that circle seems to lead that sort of cyclic and twisted life." He thought back to the image of Cherry cradling Duo on couch as Peaches glowered at Hilde. This certainly explained a lot. He watched Duo's face, wondering how much longer he would have to wait and what it was going to take to keep the pilot from hurting himself. "Well you certainly explained a lot."

He might not be able to give it up because you ask, Wufei." She stood up slowly. "While he was on a sweepers run, they had an accident. Children died. He's never been the same." She turned towards the door. "Don't give up on him... he thinks everyone has, so he has, as well."

"Then I should thank you for stopping me from making such a mistake." He watched her rise. "Leaving?"

"Yeah, I have to get back. If he falls asleep, it would be best to let him sleep it off." She smiled. "Take care, Wufei."

"And you. Particularly with that Mark character. I owe you for this."

"Just take care of him for me. I wasn't strong enough." She closed the door quietly behind her.

* * *

His eyes opened slowly and he clutched his head tightly, willing the nausea to pass. It took him a minute to process that he was back at the hotel. "Wufei?"

The pilot looked up from the newspaper where he sat at the side table.

"Trashcan." He rolled over to the edge of the bed, groping around blindly.

"On your left beside the nightstand. I put it there in case." He watched as Duo's fingers finally met the edge of the plastic bin.

Once he pulled the trashcan close to him, he rested with his chest and head hanging off the bed. He knew it was coming, just not when. It hit him suddenly and he leaned over the can and heaved.

"I feel like shit."

"There's some cool water on the nightstand. Anything else you need?"

Duo eyed the water for a minute. "Yes, but I can't have that."

He raised an eyebrow. "No. Not another fix. Food? Asprin?"

"Naw, I'll be ok." He pulled himself back into the bed after using the water to rinse his mouth. "So... I broke my promise."

"No. You didn't."

Duo raised an eyebrow.

"I spoke with Hilde. She told me what happened." He folded the newspaper up and placed it back on the table. "I'll refill this." He took the glass to the bathroom and filled it with cold water again, returning it to the nightstand.

"If I told you, you'd think I was lying."

Wufei resumed his seat and watched Duo. "I almost did think you a liar. But Hilde corrected that mistake." He paused before continuing, "She helped me get you inside and in bed."

Duo looked away, staring at the wall. "Yeah?"

"She was worried about you."

"Hm." He sat up and studied his hands. "How long was I out?"

"Several hours. It's about 4 in the morning."

"Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I was watching you." He smirked. "You talk in your sleep."

Duo looked up. "What do I say?"

"This time? Something about angels and devils and the rabbit trying to eat your soul." He shrugged. "Mostly you mumbled incoherently. That wasn't for long. You were silent most of the time."

"What do you mean this time? You shouldn't have stayed up with me. Don't you have work in the morning?"

"I'll be fine." His smirk grew a bit. "You used to talk in your sleep a lot. A couple times I would catch you on the couch muttering to yourself. One time I responded to a question you asked, then when your next comment didn't make any sense, I realized you were asleep."

Duo smirked. "No one has ever told me that before." He shook his head. "Get sleep, so you can work. I know how Quatre and Heero are."

"I've already had three cups of coffee. I'm up. How are you feeling? Still sick?"

"Naw, once I puke, I'm fine." Duo laid back against the pillow. He started scratching his arm.

Wufei watched him as he itched. "Is there something I could do to help that? Or do you just have to wait for it to pass?"

"Nothing legal." He smirked. "Just gotta wait for it to pass. How much did Hilde tell you?"

"What happened from the time you left to how Trevor ambushed you. She seemed upset over what happened."

Duo looked away. "That much, huh?"

"I asked." He got up and sat on the bed next to Duo.

"Why?"

"I wondered what happened to you. We never heard from you." He watched the braided pilot's face, unsure of how he was going to react. "I wanted to know what led up to all this."

"If you were me, would you have called?" He found himself studying the ugly floral covers again.

"Probably not."

"Is there anything else you want to know?"

"I believe she covered it. Unless you'd like to share your side of the story."

"What, uh, did she tell you?"

"What you were like when you found her at the yard. Then what happened over the course of your relationship together." Wufei looked at him, unable to really hide the concern on his face. "Why did you give up? Did you really think none of us cared?"

He glanced away. "Which time?"

"Pick one. Any of them. All of them."

"I guess I have nothing to say about it."

"Hm." He gave Duo one last look and went to the door. "I'm going in to work early. Considering what I heard about the meeting, I'm helping Trowa arranged extra security."

"Right." He nodded.

"I'll be back late. There's an extra key on the dresser. Come and go as you wish, just remember your promise. I'll bring some food for dinner." He slipped out the door and closed it quietly behind him.

He waited until he was sure Wufei was gone, then pulled out the small cellphone from his pocket. "Hey... Peaches. Change of plans."

* * *

Quatre glanced at Heero and Trowa on either side of him. "I understand why Wufei was so concerned about security at this meeting, but is this really necessary?" His eyes swept the halls as they made their way to the meeting room. Preventers in uniform where everywhere. Who knew just how many were not in uniform? Each diplomat had an individual security detail, and the screenings to get into the building had been increased from periodic, to every person going through a full pat-down and metal detectors. "I don't want a repeat of the last major meeting, just the same as every other person here. But what sort of message is this going to send to the people of the colonies and Earth? We're trying to put forth the image of unity, not secrecy."

Trowa shifted a bit. "Yes."

The blonde frowned at the pilot to his right. "Yes? Yes what? Yes we're trying to be unified or yes we're being secretive?" He watched Trowa's eyes as they skimmed over the people all heading for the same meeting room. "Are you even listening?"

"No." Trowa bit back the smile trying to find it's way to his lips. Next to him he could see Heero look away as a smile started to show on his face.

"You two are impossible. Next time I'm walking alone." He fixed each of them with a scowl then looked straight ahead, mumbling under his breath. As they neared the conference room he focused on greeting and mingling with the other diplomats as they arrived as well. He shot Wufei a quick smile when he noted the Chinese pilot standing in the back of the room.

"Excuse me." A red head he didn't recognize slipped past him, followed by another girl. Both wore Preventer's uniforms. New recruits, perhaps? He stepped aside and let them pass out of the room, turning to shake hands with the representative from one of the districts on L-3.

* * *

Trowa smiled as he bumped shoulders with the blonde walking next to him. "You did good. Not a single explosion."

"What can I say? I have skills?" He laughed and loosened his tie as they walked. "On a more serious note, I am glad things went well this time. We seem to be closer to sort of a tentative agreement. We just need to do something about whoever it is that's undermining the unification process." Quatre sighed and stared at the carpet as they walked. "I don't understand what it is people have against being all together and supporting peace with some organization and enthusiasm. I might as well be pulling teeth, some days."

"It'll get easier." Trowa looped his arm through Quatre's. "Let's go out, just us. For dinner."

"Food sounds wonderful! Have some place in mind?"

"Yes. Do you like Italian?"

At that moment his stomach growled, as if on cue. Laughing, he looked up at Trowa's green eyes and the amusement they held. "I believe there's your answer. I could eat an entire pot of pasta myself, right now."

"Good." The taller pilot smiled. "Because we have reservations at 7."

"Reservations?"

"For me to wine and dine you."

Quatre felt his face turn red as a blush crept over his cheeks. "You didn't have to do that. You always out-do yourself."

Trowa placed his hand on the blonde's cheek, running his thumb over it. "I didn't have to, I wanted to." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Quatre's lips.

He sighed and leaned into the kiss. After a moment he broke away and smiled. "If we're going to make it to dinner, you should wait till after you've wined and dined me to do that. I'm hungry. And not just for food." Giving the taller pilot a sly grin he adjusted his tie and continued down the hall.

* * *

He always found it easy to sneak up behind her, remain in her shadows. That was his place, after all. She was lovely tonight, as usual, and he found himself wanting to run his hands through her honey colored hair. He moved towards her, falling silently into place next to her, his head bowed. "Relena."

She flinched. One of these times she'd know just when he was about to do that. At least she hoped. "Heero. I do believe I've told you it's rude to sneak up on a lady." Her lips curved into a small smile. It had almost become a game between them. She scolded him for 'slinking around and surprising her' and he just ignored her and continued.

"Hn." He turned towards her. "Are you free?"

"Meetings are over for the day and I have no plans for the rest of the evening."

"If your bodyguards don't mind, would you accompany me on a walk?"

She glanced at the two men on either side behind her and nodded. They both slipped away without question. "You're the only one ever able to sneak up on them. I'm sure I'll be safe on a walk with just you." Her arm slipped through his at the elbow and she matched her pace to his.

Heero felt the smile come to his lips as he led her out of the building. "Dinner?"

"Please. I'm sure we could both use a bite after those meetings. I don't know how you manage to focus through those long hours standing. You must be starved."

"I don't stand the whole time." He smirked, but tightened his grip on her arm, careful not to hurt her. "It's better than sitting through those meetings."

"I just keep in mind that these long meetings are necessary. If we're going to get everyone to agree and bring true peace to the colonies and Earth, then we have to get everyone to cooperate." She smiled at him, thankful he was at her side again. Something about his presence always calmed her when the stress of meetings and such threatened to overwhelm her.

"If anyone can do that, it will be you."

"Quatre's been a lot of help. If the two of us can present a united front with him acting from the colonies and myself for Earth, we hope the others will soon follow suit." Relena watched her feet as they walked. "I'm sure you must be tired of this talk. I don't know why you constantly insist on working these conferences. You've done more than your share of working for peace. Shouldn't you take some time to yourself?"

"Couldn't I say the same for you?"

"My job isn't done yet. I owe it to my father to work as hard as he did. There's still work to be done and I plan to see it through. Even when others refuse to see just how much this could help them."

"That's what I admire about you."

She hoped her hair hid the small blush that crept over her cheeks as they walked. "This is nice."

"Hn." He glanced at her sideways.

"This. Walking. No pressing matters. No urgent messages. Just a nice walk." She gave his arm a small squeeze. "The company is nice as well."

He gave a brief nod as he led her towards the restaurant.

* * *

Wufei slid into the hotel room and found the braided pilot sprawled over the bed flipping channels on the tv. Depositing the bags on the small table, he began to remove a number of styrofoam to-go boxes. "I brought dinner. If you're hungry."

Duo looked up from the t.v. and shot him a curious look. "What is it?"

"Since your girlfriends seem to think you like Chinese take-out so much, I stopped by this little place called Lucky Panda and picked up some of my favorites. As well as a few standards." He smirked at his own little joke and offered Duo a set of chopsticks.

Duo grinned sheepishly. "I don't know if I should be offended or aroused."

"That depends. Were they lying or telling the truth?"

He smirked. "That's my little secret."

"Hm." He took a seat at the table and started in on some of the food. "I have kung pao beef, noodles, egg rolls, crab rangoon, general tso's chicken, sweet and sour chicken, pork lo mein and some egg drop soup. There should be enough for both of us, as well as lunch tomorrow." He eyed Duo's skinny form on the bed. "At least, that is by the standards you used to eat."

Duo moved over to the table slowly, eyeing everything Wufei had laid out. "I still eat the same... when I remember." He sat down and fixed a plate.

Wufei raised an eyebrow at the small amount on the pilot's plate. "Eat the same? Only if you plan on getting at least five more plates that size."

"We'll see how well this goes down." He ate a few bites before he started pushing the food around on the plate. "I don't mean to be a burden on you. You can kick me out."

"Shut up and eat. You're not a burden."

"Yes, sir." Duo gave a snappy salute and shoveled a large chuck of food into his mouth, grinning at Wufei the whole time.

Waiting until Duo had downed his first place as well as a second, Wufei continued to nibble at the food. When he was sure enough food had disappeared, he leaned back and studied the braided pilot's face. "So, you said something about secrets earlier. Any you feel like you should share right now?"

"Nope."

"Nothing at all?"

Duo looked thoughtful a moment. "Uhm... nope."

"So you have nothing to say about a couple of red headed girls in Preventer's uniforms who waved to me just before the meeting began?" He folded his arms over his chest and waited. "Nothing about them at all?"

"Hmm... nope."

"You know nothing about how Cherry or Peaches managed to get ahold of some uniforms and get into that building, then?"

"Nope. I told you not to underestimate them. But yes, I knew they'd be there."

Wufei frowned. "Hm."

"What?"

"It wont happen again. Understand?"

"I can't stop them." Duo crossed his arms behind his head. "Talk to them if you are concerned. I already declined going - just for you, I might add." He scratched one of his arms.

"I would prefer you attend rather than those two. You understand what sort of information should remain confidential until more details are worked out. I'm afraid they'll spread more information than is safe at the moment."

"Hm. Maybe." He leaned back in his chair, scratching his arm a little harder. "I think Heero and Trowa would notice if I suddenly pop up in one of those fancy meetings."

"True. However, I'm sure once I tell Heero just how seriously security was breached today, he wont be excited to know those are the people you associate with." Wufei noted how vigorously Duo scratched at his arm. "Is there any way to make it easier? Legal."

"Hm. I'm surprised you haven't told him." Duo looked thoughtful for a minute. "Methadone. But it's not that great."

"I wanted to make sure my facts were straight before I told him something and he jumped to conclusions. He's rather protective and may get the wrong idea if I told him something based on a misunderstanding." He packed up the leftovers and placed them in the small fridge. "Would it still help make this easier?"

"Takes a way the symptoms for 24 hours, but then they always come right back." He sighed. "I've tried it before. It's too hard Wufei... maybe you should let me go back to my sleazy ways."

"Or maybe I should stick around and do what I can to help rather than giving up on a friend."

"I couldn't beat it before."

"Before, you were still healing. And you and Hilde fought. Now, you're still healing. And I'm stubborn."

"This won't be easy on you. Or me. I get pretty unbearable. Aside from locking me in this room, if I get bad enough there isn't much you can do."

Wufei stepped around the table, smirked and leaned over Duo, his gaze locking with Duo's own violet eyes. "I could always tie you to the bed."

Duo couldn't help the grin that crossed his face. "I thought you said you wouldn't be the next fix. Are you going to tell Heero your sleeping with the enemy, too?"

"My wants and needs are important as well. And I'll tell Heero I'm sleeping with the enemy, when I'm sure you are the enemy. Until you become a direct threat, I'll just be cautious with what classified information I leave lying around."

Duo couldn't help but laugh at Wufei's words. He carefully leaned over and looped a finger around the chinese pilot's belt loop. "And is this classified? I'm great at stealth, you know."

"I can tell. Very subtle." He lowered his lips to Duo's in answer.

* * *

[1] Methadone - Used to treat the withdrawal symptoms of drugs. Lasts 24 hours and can be used long term. (years) One problem my friends always had was the cravings returning after 24 hours, like when you take pain medicine and suddenly the pain rushes back. This is not a problem for everyone. Many people are successful with methadone.

Note - Can someone addicted to heroin drop it without rehab? Yes they can! I personally know someone who failed rehab, but later put down heroin cold turkey. Tired of living that way. As stated, all of Duo's experiences are based from personal knowledge.

For those of you curious about our Wufei... read the end of Episode Zero. He is very different when not faced with a war. Also, he sees Duo as an equal, even joking with him. We stay true to manga and series. Hope you like our version of Wu as much as we do.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: We don't own Gundam Wing. If we did, Cltc wouldn't have to work extra hours to afford gas money to visit Foxxy.**

Sorry for the delay. Cltc seems to think she is allowed to have a life and Foxxy fell into openCanvas and got lost in registering for school, all these years and I'm going back! Plus, reviews make us write more. *cough*

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Quatre tapped the folder against his leg impatiently. Wufei was going to scold him for coming here unattended, but oh well. He was already in the area running another errand and wanted to know what he thought. The Chinese pilot had been the one to mention the potential for a security breech in the first place. And while he had shrugged it off at the time, a suspicious feeling made him print images from the surveillance cameras of the two girls in uniform he didn't recognize. Of course the camera hadn't been able to capture a full face shot, only profile or back of the head. And that made him more suspicious. Sighing, he knocked on the door to the hotel a little harder. Sure, he didn't call before coming over, but where was Wufei going to be today? There were no meeting or anything. His tapping grew more impatient as he waited for a sound from the other side of the door.

Duo grumbled from where he paced across the floor, he tried to ignore the knocking, but the pounding was making his headache worse. With a curse he crossed the room quickly and threw the door open, staring in shock.

About time. He'd been about to walk away when he heard the door fling open and he turned back. "Wufei. I was won....der....ing..." The blond's jaw dropped as he found himself face to Duo. "Uh. Duo?"

Duo blinked then moved to close the door, turning away from the blond.

"Duo, wait." He put his hand on the door to stop it from closing.

"What?" He moved further into the room to resume his pacing.

"What are you doing here?" He wasn't upset. Just confused. What was Duo doing in Wufei's hotel room and why hadn't Wufei said anything before? "Where's Wufei?"

"Out." Duo paused to glance at Quatre, then sighed.

"Oh."

"So..." Duo turned away, biting his lip.

Duo's voice jerked him from his thoughts and he remembered the folder in his hands. He cleared his throat. "I, uh, I had something to talk with Wufei about. Security. I guess I'll just leave it for him to deal with later." Quatre dropped the folder on the small table and looked at Duo. He knew he should say something, but he didn't know what. What did you say in a situation like this? What could you say?

"Oh, right." He resumed his pacing, faster this time and scratched his arm.

"Are you ok? I mean, you're arm... you keep scratching it." He studied Duo. This wasn't the same Duo he'd run into outside the bar. And it certainly wasn't the same Duo from before. "What are you doing here?" The question that was really on his mind left his lips before he could stop himself. Bracing for some angry retort, he stepped back against the table.

"I live on L2 now. What are you doing here?" He dug his nails further into his skin.

Even knowing it was coming hadn't prepared him for the bitterness behind those words. Quatre's eyes watched as the braided pilot continued to scratch, his arm growing red and irritated. "You're going to hurt yourself if you don't stop."

"And you care?"

"Yes. I do, actually."

He froze and turned to the blond. "Hm."

Quatre stared back at Duo, not sure what else to say. It was true. "Why are you here? Does Wufei know you're here?" He knew that look in the other pilot's eyes. A different subject would be easier to discuss than the one on caring. That one was still an open wound for both of them.

"He knows." Duo started scratching his arm, turning back to his pacing.

"How long have you been here? Does he know about your arm?"

Duo spun about and stomped closer to Quatre, pausing as he came face to face with the blond. "Why?"

"Why, what?"

"You know."

"No. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure what you're asking me. And you have yet to answer any of my questions." He leaned back, away from those prying eyes, already pressed against the table that, unfortunately had no where to move and give him more room.

"Why Trowa? Why'd it have to be that way? Why are you here?"

"I don't know." The questions came out in a rush and caught him off guard. "I guess it just happened. Why are you asking me this now?"

"Because you didn't answer then." He lifted his hands out to the blond's face, pausing before his fingers could touch.

"I don't know. It happened. He was there when I needed him. I didn't know where you went." Quatre stared at his feet, unsure of what to say next. This wasn't a conversation he'd been ready to have. Though he doubted anything could prepare him for this sort of encounter.

Duo flinched away as if he'd been slapped. "He was there when you had me, too." He crossed his arms, wiggling his hand around enough to start scratching again.

"He stayed. You left." The blond winced. He hadn't meant to be cruel, but they came out harsh just the same. Looking back up at Duo, he looked at his face. "Sorry. That wasn't fair of me."

"Fuck you." He turned away, starting to pace the room again.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn't have said it." Quatre frowned at the pilot as his pacing resumed. Finally something clicked in his mind about what was different between Duo now and Duo he'd seen at the bar. "That's why you're so jittery. You haven't been sober for a while, have you?"

He paused again, then resumed his pace. "Hm."

"I'll take that as yes. And since Wufei knows you're here I'll go so far as to assume that he knows about that too."

He shot the blond a look. "What do you care?"

Quatre bit back the retort that first popped into his mind. No need to make things worse. He'd be trying to get rid of that darker side, but seeing Duo like this only reopened old wounds. "Forget it. I'll leave you alone." Sighing, he turned back to the open door and put his hand on the knob. "Tell Wufei I stopped by, ok?"

"I missed you." He stopped with his back to Quatre, letting his arms fall to his side.

The blond froze halfway out the door. Glancing over his shoulder he noted how frail Duo really looked. He continued to watch, wondering if he'd actually heard the braided pilot right, of it was just his mind playing off unspoken desires again.

When Quatre didn't respond, Duo felt his shoulders slump and he leaned forward, pessing his forearm and head to the wall, enjoying the coolness against his skin.

"What did you say?" He turned and continued to watch Duo.

"I missed you." His fists clenched with the words.

Quietly, Quatre shut the door behind him. "I missed you, too." He chewed on his lip, hoping that whatever Wufei was doing would occupy him for some time. This wasn't the sort of conversation he wanted interrupted any time soon.

Duo turned his head, glancing at the blond over his shoulder. "I missed what we had."

"Sometimes I still miss it."

"I always do." He pushed away from the wall and sat on the edge of a bed. "I always miss you."

"What happened?"

"When?"

"Pick." Moving away from the door, Quatre took a seat at the table. He wanted to sit next to Duo, but wasn't sure if that was ok.

"I don't know. I guess it was destroying us." He flopped backwards, arms stretched over his head and he started to scratch the other arm. "But I liked it."

"You didn't at the time. In fact I remember you hating it."

"I hated hurting you. It was the only way to get through to you. I just wanted you to be happy, even if it's with Trowa." He was quiet for a moment, then sighed. "Are you happy, Quat?"

The blond smiled at the sound of his name. He hadn't heard Duo say it like that in a long time. Too long, he realized as his throat felt tight suddenly. "I am."

"Right now? Or before you saw me?"

"I'm happy with Trowa. But I was happy with you before. Now I'm worried about you." It wasn't the answer Duo wanted, but it was the answer to the question. "What happened to you?"

Duo flinched and closed his eyes. "Nothing."

"Something hurt you. More than just the damage I did."

"I think we were equal in hurting each other."

"Why, Duo?"

"Why what?" He started scratching harder, feeling his nails bit into his skin.

"Why did you do it?" His eyes watched as the pilot's hands dug into flesh again. Gritting his teeth, Quatre wondered what it was Duo had gotten involved with that made his need so bad. He recognized the signs. He just didn't know what was the cause of the addiction.

The braided pilot squeezed his eyes shut, his voice barely a whisper. "Please don't ask me that."

Again, he felt frustration rise to the surface and the words spilled from his mouth before he could think through everything. "So I'm the only one who's supposed to answer the hard questions?"

"Jesus, mother-" He trailed off as he brought his hands down over his face, running them both into his bangs. "Don't. Just don't. I'll answer anything, just not that." He kept his eyes covered with the palms of his hands as his fingers pulled the strands of hair they were wrapped in.

This time Quatre caught himself before he said something else he would regret. What was it about Duo that brought out this side of him? It hadn't always been that way between them. Why did it have to be like that now? He sighed and pushed up from the table. "I'm sorry. Old habits die hard." His toe scuffed at the carpet and he scowled at an old stain interrupting the flow of the speckle pattern. What about this out of the way hotel had made Wufei decide to stay here? Maybe that was it. It was out of the way and not the place one would expect a former gundam pilot now Preventer to be staying.

"Come here."

"Huh?" The words pulled him from his thoughts and he looked back at the bed.

"C'mere."

Slowly he walked forward to stand at the foot of the bed near the corner. His eyes still watched the braided pilot warily.

Duo sat up slowly and held out a hand.

Quatre hesitantly reached out and took the hand. He flinched slightly at the heat in Duo's hand. But what was to be expected considering how vigorously he'd been scratching at his arms?

Duo gave a hard tug, yanking the blond off his feet and down into his arms, hugging him tightly.

He squeaked at the force behind the hug, caught off guard at the unexpected fierceness behind the embrace. Finally he relaxed and let his head rest on Duo's chest, listening to the beat of his heart.

"I wanted to hate you for everything, but I couldn't." He pressed his face into Quatre's hair, holding the blond closer. "I just wanted you."

Quatre closed his eyes and held still. What was he supposed to say to that? He wanted Duo, too. But the braided pilot had already made it clear he didn't want to answer any questions on that matter.

Duo's fingers twitched and he shifted a bit in discomfort, but kept his arms around the blond. "I didn't want to leave you."

"I didn't want you to leave."

"But you let me go."

Quatre pushed himself up so he could look down at the other pilot's face. "That's not true. I tried to stop you." He glared at him and tried to wriggle free.

"No. Trowa did." He let the blond go gently and clenched his hands tightly, dropping them to his knees.

He scooted up the bed till he leaned against the headboard. "I tried first. Then you tried to slip out in the middle of the night without saying anything to anyone. And as I recall he even told you to take care of yourself. Some job you did with that." He bit his tongue. Why did keep spitting out harsh words like that when all he wanted was for things to be better again?

"But you didn't stop me then." He turned and slowly crawled up the bed, stopping at the blond's feet. "But you're right. I didn't."

"What was I supposed to do? Go running out the door after you? You left me in the back yard and you were just going to leave anyways, even if I had tried to stop you."

He pushed forward, placing a hand on either side of Quatre's face, fingers splayed, but his body didn't touch the blond's. Slowly he leaned forward until their lips were almost touching and he could feel the other's breath against his lips. "I told you before, I'd do anything you asked. I left because I can't say no to you." He pressed his forehead against Quatre's. "I can't say much has changed now."

"Duo..." His voice trailed off as he looked into the other pilot's eyes. He could feel his heart beating faster at the sudden closeness. Swallowing hard, he pressed back against the bed. "So where does that put us now?"

"On the verge of another mistake." He leaned closer, still not touching the blond.

"Mistake?" He wished his voice hadn't chosen that moment to break.

Duo lifted a hand bringing it to the blond's face and running his finger tips down the jawline. "You make me forget everything."

"Don't forget to breathe." Quatre smirked, glad that despite the distraction at least this time it wasn't a snide comment that came to mind first.

He squeezed his eyes closed, letting his hand drop from the blond's face. "If only..."

"If only what?"

"I could touch you again."

"I'm not going anywhere, Duo."

He opened his eyes slowly. "You aren't mine any more."

"That never stopped you before. Aren't you the one who took first and dealt with the consequences later?" He knew it was a fine line they were walking. Quatre knew too well just what he was saying to Duo. But that didn't stop him. He had missed being this close to Duo. And right now, all he wanted was to be closer.

The braided pilot flinched, slamming his free hand back against the headboard, eyes locking with Quatre's. "Ask me."

"No."

"Then go."

Quatre noted that Duo hadn't moved and continued to stare back at him. "Why did you do it?"

"I wanted you to be happy."

"I was happy with you."

"You're happy with Trowa."

"I was miserable at the start. I missed you. I was worried about you. I knew I'd hurt you and you'd left and there was nothing I could do to fix what I had broken between us." Sitting up, he moved so he wasn't as beneath Duo as he had been. "Then the next time I see you is over a year later and you're drunk and angry, getting thrown out of a bar and spitting fire. What happened after you left, Duo? What happened to _you_?"

Duo flinched and lowered his head, sitting back enough to cover his face with his hands. "I wanted to come back to you, but Trowa was there, I wanted..." He shrugged. "I changed..." His mind pushed images in front of his eyes and he ran his hands through his hair. "I made a mistake... I wanted to escape it."

"Rather than letting me make my own choice, you decided that just because Trowa was there you weren't going to come back? And so you hid in the bottom of a bottle? That's just stupid."

"I didn't crawl into a bottle over that. Alcohol came after. I was going to come back, but..." He shook his head. "I-I just." He blinked hard and turned his head, willing the tears threatening his vision. "They were so young you know? Then... I just shot up once, I just wanted to get away from it. I never meant for any of this."

"Neither of us meant for this to happen."

He looked up suddenly, eyes meeting Quatre's. "Then why did it?"

"Because I was a greedy, spoiled idiot and you were too nice to stop me." The blond snorted and looked down at the coverlet on the bed and frowned. "We both screwed up."

"I'm sorry." He leaned forward again, resting his forehead against the blond's. "I never should've left."

"I shouldn't have let you go."

"You should go." He cupped Quatre's face, gently, tilting the blond's head up.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No." He placed his thumbs over the blond's lips, kissing the back of them. "But you should." He leaned forward to again.

Reaching up, Quatre wrapped his hands around Duo's wrist and yanked his hands down so their lips met instead. After a moment, he released his grip and wound one hand into Duo's hair as he leaned forward, pressing for more from the sudden kiss. If he was going to cross the line they'd been toeing, he was damn well going to enjoy it at least.

Duo jerked in shock, but pressed forward, grabbing Quatre's other hand and pinning it against the bed. He bit on the blond's lip, tugging gently.

Pulling Duo down on top of him, Quatre leaned back. He returned the bite, then followed with his tongue. His hand held the braided pilot's head close as he ignored the need for air and just focused on his need to keep kissing Duo.

He leaned further into the kiss, letting Quatre's tongue invade his mouth. He ran his finger tips down the blond's face, enjoying the kiss before pulling back, panting slightly. "We can't..." He buried his face in the blond's neck. "I don't think I can stop if we do." He trailed kisses up his neck, before pausing to work on the ear lobe, nipping a bit.

Gasping at the sudden attention on his neck and ear, Quatre's eyes closed and he gripped onto Duo harder. "I don't care. I don't care anymore." His own face buried into Duo's neck as he nibbled at the little bits of exposed skin, letting his hands trail down the pilot's sides to the bottom of his shirt.

The braided pilot groaned, bringing his own hands to rest on the waistband of Quatre's jeans. "Take me. Hard."

"No." His hands slid up under the shirt, pushing it over Duo's head before sliding down his arms.

Duo's finger's trembled as he worked on unbuttoning the blond's pants. "Please..."

His hand gripped Duo's wrists and pulled them up. "Not like that, please. I can't be like that again. Not yet." Quatre's eyes begged as he held on to the braided pilot's hands. He didn't want to become that dark and twisted thing again. And being rough like that now, when they'd finally seemed to be sorting themselves out, he didn't want to risk it.

"Then be gentle." He pressed his lips to the blond's. "Are you sure you want to do this? We can't undo this."

"We can't undo what happened before, either. Even with this."

"I'm ok with that. Are you ok with this?"

"It wouldn't be the first time I made out with someone who didn't belong to me." He growled and rolled so he had Duo pinned beneath him. "But as for this, I want this." His eyes locked with Duo's as he continued. "I want you, Duo. You. I need you. There's a difference between being happy and happy with what I have. I want to be happy again. And I need you for that."

He reach a hand up to touch the blond's lips, trailing his fingers gently across. "I can wait, I don't want you to make a mistake with me. Look at me now, huh?" He smirked.

"Being with you isn't a mistake." He brushed his lips against Duo's before pushing up again. "I want you any way I can have you. We'll deal with details later."

The braided pilot squeezed his eyes closed. "I was with Wufei."

Quatre winced. "I hadn't considered that thought." He moved so he sat next to Duo, dropping his feet over the side of the bed. "I'm sorry." A bitter chuckle escaped his lips, despite how tight his chest felt and how hard he suddenly found it to breathe. "There I go again only thinking about my wants and needs. I didn't think about your situation when you told me to stop. I'm sorry." Chewing on his lip he stared at the carpet, mentally berating himself for being so blind to what Duo had been trying to tell him.

"No, it's not... I didn't want you to stop." He threw an arm over his eyes. "I want you, too. I just... don't want you to hurt yourself or feel you've made a mistake. I can't hide that from you, can I?" He lifted the arm up to stare at Quatre. "If you want me, then I won't stop you again, but I want you to be sure you aren't making a mistake." He squeezed the blond's hand.

"Do you think I'm making a mistake?" He stared at the hand on his and waited.

"I can't make that decision." Duo intertwined their fingers.

"I asked what you thought. Not a decision on the matter, Duo." He smirked at the response. Duo was always good at avoiding the questions he didn't want to answer.

"I'm biased. I think I'm a mistake, but not you."

Swinging his head around, Quatre glared at Duo. "You are not a mistake. People make mistakes, but we aren't mistakes. I don't think being with you is a mistake. The mistake I made was to let you walk out that door that night when all I wanted to do was chase you down and bring you back. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice and let you get away again. If you want me to stop and leave and go back to Trowa then I will. But you tell me to. Don't twist words around just to avoid answering a question or obscuring what you really mean. Just don't."

Duo tightened his grip on the blond's hand, pulling it towards him. "Then stay. Prove what you said."

"Prove which part?"

"All of it."

* * *

My oh my, you had to have seen that coming... C'mon, it's us! *grins*


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: We don't own Gundam Wing. If we did, Cltc wouldn't have to work extra hours to afford gas money to visit Foxxy.**

Hahaha, made you think with that last chapter, huh? *grins*

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* * *

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Duo tightened his grip on the blond's hand, pulling it towards him. "Then stay. Prove what you said."

"Prove which part?"

"All of it."

Quare trailed his gaze down from Duo's eyes, over his bare chest and down his arm to where their hands rested on his knee. As his eyes skimmed over Duo's arms he had to suppress the shudder that threatened to break free. The braided pilot's arms were scarred. But not the same scars he'd been familiar with before. Not old battle wounds. These were from a battle of a different sort. He could see where a needle had punctured skin several times, and he was sure it wasn't from visits to the doctor. Small scars and marks were scattered all over the inside of his arms and he couldn't control the small wince when he noticed how bad some of those wounds must have been. How had he not noticed when he'd slid Duo's shirt off earlier? Was he really in that much of a rush to strip him down that he didn't noticed the scars? "Duo..."

The American had followed Quatre's eyes and turned his head away with a sigh. "Yeah?"

"It's not that I don't want to. But maybe we should take it slower than this. I mean, we don't want to get ahead of ourselves and let emotion override reason." His eyes continued to catalogue each little scar, bruise and mark that marred Duo's skin. He swallowed hard when he noticed the bite mark on the inside of a hip, just above the line of the braided pilot's pants. "Right?" He doubted Duo would buy that, but he could hope. What had he done to himself over the year? Whatever it was, Quatre refused to be the next scar, emotional or physical.

Duo crossed his arms a bit self-consciously, but his eyes never left the ceiling. "I thought you said we'd worry about details later. I'm not letting emotion override reason. Are you?"

"Duo," Quatre sighed. No matter how hard he tried to not hurt the other pilot, he always managed to mess that up. "That's why I'm stopping this now. I don't want to just jump back into this and end up the way we were before. Those bites are more than details Duo. What're you going to do about Wufei?"

"What were you going to do about Trowa?"

"Talk with him, I guess. Sort things out."

"And you think it would be that easy, huh?"

"No."

"You're committed to Trowa. It's different between me and Wufei."

"What is it between you and Wufei, then? And do you two see it the same from both sides?" Quatre watched the other pilot's face. "Hm?"

"It was a fling at first." He smirked and turned to the blond. "Just a one-night stand. Now? I think he just wants to save me from myself."

"Is that such a bad goal for him?"

"No." Duo looked away again with a frown. "But it's not love either."

Ouch. Leave it to Duo to return a low blow with one of his own. "Hm."

"I spoke to Wufei, already. I know where he stands."

Quatre fiddled with a loose string on the coverlet and chewed the inside of his cheek. "How about where you stand on all this?"

"On us? Me? Him?"

He shrugged. "Yes?"

"I love you." He pulled his shirt back over his head. "I can't quit thinking about you. That's where I stand."

"I love you. I never stopped loving you, Duo. I just," he cut off with a sigh. "I'm sorry."

"You just what?"

"I just keep messing up and making things worse."

"Not this time." He leaned into the blond, resting his head on Quatre's shoulder.

"I've got you frustrated with me. We're going to have figure out what to do about Trowa and Wufei. I'm going to hurt both of them. And all because I couldn't deal with my own emotions." Scowling at the floor he kept turning over in his mind all that he'd done to mess up the good things he'd had.

"I'm not frustrated. Worried." He turned the blond's head towards him, pulling him down for a soft kiss.

"Worried?" Quatre pulled back a fraction. "About what?"

"All of it."

"--hoping this helps." He froze and looked over his shoulder as the door opened and Wufei stopped just inside the room. Just over the Chinese pilot's shoulder Quatre could see Heero right behind. Wufei frowned and stepped aside to let the other pilot in. He dropped a brown bag on the table and looked between the two pilots sitting on the bed. "Quatre. I thought you were with Trowa."

Quatre shifted away from Duo a fraction and looked at the table. At least the two of them hadn't walked in thirty seconds earlier. "Yeah. He was working on something. I came by with a file for you to look at and Duo opened the door. We've been talking."

Duo glanced at the bag and stood, scratching under the sleeve of his long shirt. "...did you get it?"

Wufei nodded. He reached into the back and pulled out an orange prescription bottle and tossed it to the braided pilot. "Instructions are on the label." Lifting the folder from the table, he flipped through the pictures inside.

Quatre stood and walked over to lean over file with him. "No one recognized them. I wondered if this had to do with the security breach you talked about."

"Yes. We've met." Wufei frowned.

Duo took the bottle and excused himself to the opposite side of the room, sitting in one of the hotel tables with a bottle of water.

Quatre looked up. "You know them?"

Wufei glanced at Duo. "We met the night before last."

"Ah. Well." Clearing his throat, he glanced at Heero, who seemed intent on watching all of them like hawks, before looking over at Duo. "I should go. I've got work to do."

Wufei nodded. "We'll see you later."

Heero studied the blond, the gave a brief nod, turning to Duo who continued to scratch, eyes downcast.

Quatre gave Duo one last look before slipping past Heero and out the door.

"Did you look over the instructions?" The Chinese pilot dropped the folder on the table and took a seat. "The doctor said if you follow the dosage and make some other changes in your lifestyle, things should go better this time around."

"Yes." He took the medicine as prescribed and shot a glance to Heero.

"Hn. Let me see your arms."

"Why?" He glared at Heero, then Wufei, dragging his eyes back to Heero.

"I want to see." Crossing the room, Heero took the seat opposite the braided pilot and flipped on the extra light. "Roll up your sleeves."

"Never seen tract marks before?" He raised an eyebrow, but didn't move his arms.

"I want to see your arms." Heero watched Duo's face for a moment before adding, "Please."

Duo reluctantly rolled up both sleeves then laid his arms over the table, his eyes never leaving Heero's.

Heero looked over the marks and scars on his arms quickly. "Some of those cuts were deep." It wasn't really a question, but he did hope for more information about some of them. Questions, he could save for later. "Did you get into fights all the time? Or just clumsy with the can opener?" He looked up and gave Duo a half smirk before looking at his arms again.

"Just clumsy once or twice. The rest are from a pretty wicked bar fight."

"Hn." His eyes focused on the long scar running along a vein for a moment before he shifted his attention to other marks. If he knew Duo, the pilot was watching his every move. "How'd the other guy look, if you look like this?" Finally he leaned back and clicked the light off. He'd seen what he needed.

"A lot worse." Duo pulled his sleeves back down and kicked his feet up on the table, glancing between the two pilots.

Wufei nodded and moved his chair closer. "I talked with Heero about everything. He agrees. You should come back with us."

Duo paused and stared at Wufei blankly. "To Earth?" He looked between the two again, then turned his head away. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

"It would be better than you trying to sober up on your own." Heero studied Duo as he leaned in the chair. "Being here will only make it harder."

"Being on Earth will be just as hard." He crossed his arms and stood up, turned to pace the room again, wondering when the methadone would kick in. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

"You could stay in your own place." This time it was Wufei. He knew Duo would be able to eventually wiggle his way out of an agreement with just one of them. That's why he and Heero had agreed to present a unified front on the matter beforehand. "Being surrounded by the people who are related to this addiction will make breaking it more difficult. On Earth you'll be closer to friends who care and are willing to help."

"I don't have a job on Earth. I couldn't afford my own place and I'm not taking charity. I refuse to work with Preventers again."

"Relena has offered us all a place to stay when we need. Not charity. Friendship." Heero looked over to Wufei before continuing. "You could stay there as you need. If your worried about a job I'm sure we could work something out."

"Relena?" Duo frowned. "I don't know... about that." He scratched at his arm frantically. "She's done enough mixing her name around with mine."

"We've already discussed that. The place isn't in her name. And she's willing to handle whatever press comes her way as the result of any relations with us." Heero frowned and looked at Wufei who also had a scowl on his face. The Chinese pilot looked at the dosage directions on the paper in the bag and back at Duo. The braided pilot had seemed calm enough when they came in comparative to how he was when he left to get the methadone this morning. Was the dosage wrong? Or was something else making Duo so jittery?

"Trust me, my name is mixed in with some bad shit, Heero. From drugs to anarchy..." He fidgeted, pausing for a second to scratch is arm harder, pausing when he drew blood.

"And she's made all the preparations necessary to handle the situation as needed." Heero's frown deepened as a small bead of blood bloomed on Duo's arm. He glanced at Wufei who already had tissues in hand to pass to the braided pilot. "Pace. It's less destructive than scratching yourself to the point of drawing blood." Wufei gave one more look at the directions. "The doctor said that although this is a higher dosage than she wanted to give, it could still take a few days before it becomes fully effective."

"Dammit!" Duo threw his water bottle on the floor and kicked it. "It's not going to work, I already fucking told you!" He passed by Wufei's hand and started for the door. "I gotta go."

"Duo, wait!" Wufei stood and reached for Duo's hand.

The braided pilot paused as a hand grabbed his and he spun. "I'm sorry, I can't do this."

"You were doing alright a few minutes ago." He was. He had been calm and sitting in the chair. What had changed? Quatre left and then he and Heero had started talking about bringing Duo back to Earth. That's it. "Do you want us to finish the conversation later? Should we give you some space?"

"No. Yes... I don't know. Something happened."

Heero stood and watched Duo. "You can stay at the place Relena offered alone. You'll have space that way. But you'll also be closer to friends. It's an hour from where we're staying currently. So you wont be too close for comfort." He had an idea what it was that set Duo off. But was going to save that conversation with Wufei until later in private. For now, they just needed to keep the braided pilot from walking out and disappearing.

"What about my job here?"

"How long would you need to get things in order for a long vacation?"

"I can leave when I need to."

"If you'd like to take up the offer, make the necessary arrangements and let me know. If you have someone you trust to leave in charge, feel free to do so. And if you would like I could talk with Relena about getting you some work on Earth." He kept his focus on Duo, moving across the room slowly so he was closer to but not blocking the door. "And she has mentioned seeing you again for a rematch at the video game. She thinks she's improved her skills at the guitar and can beat your high score."

Duo visibly relaxed and nodded to Heero, dropping his head. "Fine. But I can get my own job."

"Good. Because if you said no, I was going to leave it to you to tell Relena that you didn't want to play games with her anymore." He smirked and relaxed against the wall. "She was ready to pick new curtains for the place when she suggested you coming back and staying there. She even offered to paint the place a darker color if you didn't like ecrue."

"You... can tell her I'd like to have that rematch." He crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall. "But she's not going to win."

"Oh?" Heero raised an eyebrow. "She thinks she is."

Duo smiled. "She always does. I guess... I guess I'll go back with you. For now. Maybe I won't have to take Relena up on the offer... just let me think it through first."

He nodded. "No rush. Let me know what to tell her and we'll get sorted out."

Wufei looked between the two and relaxed back into his seat. Heero had apparently picked up on something in the conversation that he missed. Whatever it was though, he was able to keep Duo from marching out the door then and there.

Duo nodded again and made his way back to the chair he had been sitting in.

Heero watched him and picked up the folder with the pictures from the table. "Now, about these two girls..."

* * *

Trowa paused and looked at the blond walking next to him as the perused the grocery store aisles. His brow furrowed as the sigh escaped Quatre's lips. "Something's been bothering you."

"Hm?" He almost dropped the jar of sauce when Trowa's voice broke through his thoughts. "Sorry. I was somewhere else for a moment. Is it that obvious?" Quatre placed the jar back on the shelf and continued beside the taller pilot. He just couldn't keep his attention focused.

"From the moment you got back. Did something happen?"

"Oh." Watching his feet for a moment, he considered just how much he wanted to tell Trowa. It wasn't fair to him to tell him about everything here. But he did at least deserve some explanation for the erratic behavior. "I ran into Duo. I guess he's been staying with Wufei."

Trowa tensed, then relaxing, setting down the box he'd been holding. "I see."

"I went to show Wufei those pictures I printed and see if he knew anything about those girls. Duo answered the door."

"Hm. I take it Wufei wasn't there."

"No. He was out running an errand." He kept his eyes cast to the floor as they moved to the next aisle. "Do we need anything else off the list?"

"No. But we're going to talk."

Quatre nodded and followed him to the checkout. "Back to the hotel?"

"Doesn't matter." He followed the blond. "Did you have sex?"

"Trowa!" Snatching the bags from the startled checker, he stared at the other pilot before heading for the door. He couldn't believe Trowa has just blurted that question out, but knew he would be quick to follow to hear the answer.

Trowa grabbed the other bags and followed behind the blond silently, knowing he would answer, as long as Trowa stayed silent.

"No. We didn't." His tone was curt as he ground the words through grit teeth. Really? Even if he had been about ready to jump all over the braided pilot, did Trowa think so little of his self control?

"But."

"We talked. And kissed." This was not the way he wanted the conversation to go. Not in public and not without him having the chance to work up the nerve to say something. "That's it."

"And."

"And I don't know. I'm sorry. I should have left when I realized Wufei wasn't there. I should have just left right then." Dumping the bags in the trunk of the car, Quatre yanked open the passenger door and sat down.

Trowa placed his bags in the trunk and sighed, running a hand through his bangs. He stood at the trunk a moment before making his way to the driver seat. "What made you stop?"

Quatre watched out the window and let his head rest against the glass. "I didn't want emotions to take over."

"Is it going to be like last time?" Trowa tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Because I don't play games and I'm not patient."

"Do we have to talk about this now?"

Trowa glanced at the blond. "Well, I'm not going to pretend it never happened. I don't know what you want, Quatre. And I don't think you know either." He glanced ahead, watching the road for a moment. "I want to talk to Duo."

"I didn't say I wanted to ignore it, either!" Quatre turned to frown at Trowa. Taking a deep breath he put one hand over his eyes and massaged his temples. "I'm sorry I snapped." He took another calming breath before uncovering his face and looking back at the other pilot again. "What do you want to talk with him about?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter or don't want to tell me?"

"Both."

Quatre turned and looked back out the window. This conversation definitely had not gone the way he wanted. Duo was right. Talking wasn't easy, and he was fairly sure he'd already hurt both of them more than he knew.

"It's not bad. I just want to talk to him." Trowa eased his grip on the wheel. "And I think you should, too."

"We did talk already."

"That's not what I meant. But you need to figure out what you want."

"I want to stop hurting everyone else." The words came out barely a whisper. He hadn't meant to talk out loud, but maybe he was lucky and Trowa hadn't heard.

Trowa shot an eyebrow up at the blond, then turned back to the road. "We'll talk about it when you're ready."

"You want to talk now, don't you?"

"You don't."

"Maybe rather than worrying about what I want, I should pay attention to others." Prying his eyes from the passing buildings, he turned in his seat to look at Trowa's face. "I know there's something else on your mind."

"We're still going to talk, but not in the car."

When the car stopped outside the hotel, Quatre hesitated a moment before climbing out and helping get the bags. Once inside he took his time putting things away. After the last bag was emptied he leaned against the counter and waited.

Trowa took a moment to settle himself then turned to face Quatre, arms crossed. "I've never met someone as confused as you."

Uncertain how to react, Quatre decided it was safer to just nod.

"You tell me to worry about others. But what you described is yourself." He stared into the blond's eyes. "You worry about hurting everyone, but you just hurt yourself more. What do you want, Quatre?"

Yeah. This conversation very much was not going the way he'd planned. As if his plans had been any better, anyway. "What do you mean, what do I want? We've had this conversation before. Haven't we?"

"Yes, but obviously that's changed." He leaned back against the wall. "Talk. You look like you have something to say."

"Confused is a good word for it. Every time I think I've got myself sorted out, I get lost along the way." His hand dropped to his sides and he fiddled with the seam in his slacks. "Duo really needs some help."

"So do you care about him or are you concerned about him?"

"Both. He's our friend. It hurts to see him like that." He bit his tongue when he realized how one sided that statement sounded. "And it hurts to know that worrying about him and caring about him hurts you."

Trowa pushed up from the wall and dropped his arms. "Figure out what you want, Quatre." He turned and left, heading for the bathroom. "I'm going to shower."

"You're angry."

"Yes." He closed the door quietly behind him.

* * *

Wufei flipped through channels twice before deciding to just pick a movie on demand. He'd ordered pizza a while ago and now was just waiting for the delivery guy. "Got a movie suggestion while we wait on pizza?" He looked over his shoulder to where Duo was draped in a chair, fiddling with the end of his braid as his foot bounced up and down in the air.

"Nope." Duo kept his eyes on the ceiling and sighed.

"You ok?" He put the remote down and turned. "The delivery guy shouldn't be too much longer."

"No."

"Craving?"

"Yes."

"Hm. Is there anything I can do to help make it easier?"

"No." Duo shifted a bit, moving his braid around with him. "We kissed."

Wufei raised an eyebrow and leaned back against the headboard. "I'm going to assume the 'we' is referring to you and Quatre."

"Yes."

"Heero and I interrupted you two earlier."

"Not really, we were talking then." He shifted again, running his hand over his face.

"What else?" Judging by the look on the braided pilot's face there was more to the story than a kiss and some words.

Duo shrugged. "Thats all we did."

He nodded and folded his arms across his chest. "How was your talk?"

He shot Wufei a glance. "Weird."

"How so?"

"Is that all you're going to say on the matter?"

"I usually try to know all I can about a matter before I pass judgement or make a decision on it. So that will depend on what the rest of the matter is."

"I don't know then."

He shifted so his feet hit the floor and he leaned over with his elbows on his knees. "You still love him." Not a question. There was no question about that. It may have taken him all afternoon what took Heero ten minutes to figure out. Duo shifted moods when Quatre left. Changing topics got his mind off the blond pilot and he calmed down. But talking about the two of tem was visibly agitating the braided pilot once more. He was sure of it now.

Duo turned away. "Doesn't really matter, does it? I don't plan on seeing him again."

"Why not?" That wasn't the response he'd expected. "Second thoughts about coming back to Earth with us?"

"I don't think it's a good idea." He started tapping his foot a little faster. "I've had second thoughts since you offered."

"Care to share those thoughts?"

"I just think that maybe L2 is where I belong. It's home." He sat up and shifted, tapping his other foot. "Everyone has a role."

"What role do you see as yours?" He looked up at Duo's face, trying to read the emotions there.

"I don't know." He turned to face Wufei. "I don't like to think about it much."

"May--" He was cut off by a knocking on the door. With a sigh, he stood and answered. After he paid the kid at the door, he made sure to place the Do Not Disturb sign on the knob and locked the door behind him. "Pizza's here." He put the box on the table and pulled a slice for himself before returning to his spot on the edge of the bed.

Duo eyed the pizza, but made no move towards it. "What were you saying?"

"Maybe you should think about it more. Other than the place, the location, what makes this place home for you?"

"This is where I'm from."

"Are you happy here?" He finished off the slice and reached for another from the box. "I can't eat all this alone."

"You never know until you try." He smirked.

"Then maybe I'll try." He chuckled and took a large bite before moving the chair beside the pizza. "Close proximity to the goal makes it easier."

"I can't believe that Chang Wufei would actually eat pizza. Not just any pizza, but L2's pizza." He grinned.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." He gave Duo a smile before leaning back in his seat. "Pizza is better on Earth. Less processed. All natural grease for your tastebuds' pleasure. Tell me that doesn't appeal to you at all."

"Any other day, yes. Today, not as much." He fiddled with is braid a moment. "I never thought it would appeal to you at all."

"What changed today? Does it have to do with the talk you and Quatre had?"

"I'm sober. For the first time in a while and it's not agreeing with me." He stopped moving and stared at Wufei. "Are you going to tell me what you think now?"

"What I think about the talk you had or what I think about the situation in general?" He raised an eyebrow and finished off the second piece.

"Both?"

"I think it's good you two talked. I think that since neither of you were crying or bruised or hurt physically, the talk went as well as can be considering your last encounter with each other." He sighed and looked at the pizza, considering another piece. "I think there are some things you both probably still need to discuss. And I think there are some things we need to discuss."

"Then let's discuss them."

"Openly?"

"Is there any other way?"

"Very well then." A few moments passed as he collected his thoughts. Open conversations always were the hardest. And often most painful. "You still love him. And that's part of why you don't want to go back to Earth. You think it will be easier if you hide here?"

"I think he's better with Trowa. And I don't want to come between them living there. And partially because of what I do here."

"I thought you were quitting the business. Or did you change your mind on that matter?"

"I do other business. But that's a different conversation."

"Fair enough. So you think he should stay with Trowa. How does he feel about you?"

"The same as before."

"So you both are still in love with each other. You think he's better with Trowa and he doesn't want to hurt either of you. Instead he'll beat himself up over the situation while you mope and try to sober up alone, surrounded by users. Do I have this right so far?" He watched Duo's face. Being brutally honest wasn't the easiest, but at least they could get things figured out this way. Hopefully.

Duo grinned a bit. "Yes."

"More of your running and hiding. Does he know how much you used?"

"I don't know. Do you even know?"

"Probably not. But he should know."

"Meh." He shrugged. "We're off topic."

"Hm." Wufei frowned and put the rest of the pizza in the fridge. After a moment of struggling and rearranging the contents, he got the box to fit and took his seat again. "What if you were stable here? What if you had a job, stayed sober and didn't have to face the same problems you do now? Would you still think he was better with Trowa?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Duo shrugged. "I'll get back to you on it."

"I thought we agreed on an open conversation. You seem to be dodging several topics. And so far it's been one-sided."

"I don't know that answer yet." He huffed. "What do you think. About you. Not about Quatre."

Wufei took a deep, steadying breath. "I think I saw this coming. You always had eyes for Quatre. Even that day you saw that picture on my phone. The moment the building blew, you were completely focused on finding him. Nothing else in your world existed. At first I was jealous, but like you, I didn't want to come between you two. Then as things got worse, I wondered if we shouldn't have done something about it sooner. But you left. And over time Quatre seemed to get better. We never heard a word from you. Time passed and you're familiar with it. Even after that first day when I found you on the street and brought you back here, I knew things were different and this wasn't what I used to think I wanted. But I'm not just going to walk out on you because you still love Quatre. I don't feel the same as I thought I did." He stopped and smirked to himself as he stared off at nothing. "It's taken some time, and after talking about your addictions with you I came to a realization. I think it's been lust more than anything else. However, like I said, I'm not going to just turn and leave. I still see you as a friend and a close one that I value. And I'm willing to do the work needed to keep your friendship."

Duo smiled a bit. "A friend that's touched you. Inside." He smirked.

"So does that mean friendship is still ok between us?" After an answer like that, a joke from Duo could be either an escape or an acceptance.

"Yes." He smiled again. "I always liked you more than you knew, Wu."

"Don't flatter me." He snorted and propped his feet up on the bed, leaning back in his chair. "So I take it I answered your question to satisfaction?"

"Yes sir." Duo mimicked Wufei's pose. "If you don't mind, I need to go to the bathroom for a while."

Shooting him a sideways look, Wufei raised an eyebrow. "Is the medication still disagreeing with you?"

"Yes."

Dropping his feet, the Chinese pilot moved to the bed and picked up the remote again. "If you need, I could get something for your stomach."

"No, I just need to take a long ass shower and ignore the feeling of wanting to strangle anything near me." He stood slowly and made his way to the bathroom. "Sometimes I feel like I have a grip on this, then I lose it again."

Wufei chuckled as he started to cruise channels again. "Well, if you need help with that, I'm here." He paused when he realized how that sounded. "Help with the strangling things and maintaining a grip on life. Not the shower."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind help with the latter." Duo grinned from the doorway. "You know you want to, what else are you gonna do, huh?"

"Shut up and shower before I beat you."

"Is that a promise?"

Wufei grabbed the corner of the nearest pillow and launched it at the braided pilot.

Duo grinned and knocked the pillow away. "Fine. Fine... I just remembered that you're a hair guy and I was gonna wash all this, but you know what, you just sit there and watch t.v. while I get hot, naked, and wet in the shower."

"Don't clog the drain. Or after I beat you for using all the hot water, I'll make you clean it out with your teeth." He snickered and began his second trip through the channels.

* * *


End file.
